For more than 100 years
For more than 100 years Colleen’s family has lived or come to this beach in the summer. Summer reunion. Many families came from afar to see each other. The crowd is dwindling as people no longer live nearby. The older relatives have passed. Colleen is the youngest of her generation. Sobering. The next generation has too much social media obligation to afford time to travel far. There are simply too many summer obligations – dance, music, gymnastics… too many other places to visit. Even Colleen has lobbied to live in Maine or Scotland. Me? I got no more moves in me. I was in 9 different places before 18 years old. The running joke? My father was a bank robber (not). It’s too much for me to pack up all my stuff one more time. There was a time when all my worldly belongings fit in my car. Today Dave lives out of what he can carry in a backpack. We are at the beach but not too many more years.
Right about now the annual gathering has begun again.
You got some?
Memories. We all have some. Some are more faulty than others. Some are more rosy as they fade. Jog?
At one point I carried a camera and a video to record events. I found that I never watched the videos. So, I returned to photographs pretty much exclusively. Even now, my spiffy mirrorless camera or iPhone makes video easy, I still prefer photos.
Wistfully, I recall. I see my kids and their antics, activities, accomplishments, and our times together. You can’t go back. I find these slides as little treasures. I am glad they are preserved. It is the legacy my kids will receive one day.
Summer Rain
Never mind the focus. It suits the mood. We were having a torrential summer rain. It was so heavy that the pool overflowed. The kids couldn’t stand to be inside and ran out to play on the deck. When you’re in the pool, you’re already wet. So a little more water wasn’t going to make much difference. Yes, I do believe that they were having a great time. I’d like to think it was a magical childhood moment for them.
Melted! June 6, 2013, High Noon
Well, summer slipped in and wow! I have never seen a temperature so high. “Ah! But, it’s a dry heat.” Isn’t that what they always say? I was pretty hot on the ride home. The bus was not blowing much A/C. I thought the driver was not running it. But maybe he was and we just couldn’t cool the vehicle in this heat. Anyway, it’s not bad. You follow the simple rule: Stay indoors out of the heat. The Hospital certainly has enough A/C going. So I’ve been in Maine in the dead of winter and tapped the Volvo’s instrument panel to see if it was stuck when it read -13 degrees (Digital? You know). And now it’s 117 degrees. Well, it wasn’t Antarctica then and it’s not Hell now.
Red Grass
I’m just speed reading my image collection and stopped here. It’s not a great shot. It just evokes the memory of a hot sunny summer day with a bit of breeze. I got a lot of these days in my memory. And then, perhaps, not enough… It’s nice to be reminded.
photobackstory 