Here Comes Summer

You wouldn't know it by our weather here in ol' Minnesota lately (could we *have* another 55 degree rainy'ish day?), but summer is officially just around the corner. I don't even have any big plans for the summer, but I hope to get to Manhattan to see my friend Meg, who moved there for grad school.

This will be my 28th summer on earth, so here are 28 summertime memories from my 1980s small town childhood:

1. The smell of grill cooking
2. Kool-Aid (cherry) in an orange Tupperware pitcher & popsicles
3. Going to swim and lay out at the local swimming pool and finally getting old enough to sit in the "cool kids" corner
4. Windows open as it starts to get dark outside and a MN Twins game on TV
5. Putting towels on the seat of cars that have leather upholstery - ouch!
6. My grandparents' house on Lake Pepin - the grass was very soft there for some reason
7. A yellow and blue Huffy dirt bike with the number 312 on the little sign attached to the handle bars
8. Riding bike along country roads, the sound of birds & nature
9. A roap swing above a stream in the woods at my friend's farm house way out in the country
10. A brick house with flat roof and no central air -- we lived in an oven
11. 1988 - Camp Pepin in Stockholm, WI - on the Mississippi River's Lake Pepin
12. Kwik Trip Urge cups (huge fountain soda) and pizza slices for lunch
13. Socks with stripes on them and shorts with white piping/trim
14. Playing baseball on the grassy playground
15. Riding bike to the make-shift "bike jump" in a steep countryside ditch - if you didn't land just in time, you'd fly in to the trees
16. My friend Trisha jumping her ten-speed while all the boys had dirt bikes
17. Dairy Queen and Root Beer Floats from A&W Drive In
18. Going to Gauerke's Gift & Variety on Main Street to the candy counter
19. T-ball games - "Al's Feed & Seed" or "Hardware Hank" were examples of the teams
20. Waking up in time to watch The Waltons, game shows ("No Whammies!") and Young & the Restless before heading to the pool
21. Movies, frozen pizza and Nintendo on rainy days
22. Walking the railroad tracks out to the junkyard to throw rocks at old buses & cars (I guess we were like hillbillies) - could've gotten in big trouble for that
23. Coppertone suntan lotion
24. Night games at the Wilsons' (friends Trisha & Stanley's crazy family) - Kick the Can, usually
25. Mowing our huge lawn - nightmare
26. Being allowed one can of Coca Cola Classic per day. Sometimes I cheated and would hide in the garage and drink my second can.
27. Driving to my other grandparents' in the Black Hills of South Dakota every 4th of July - 10-12 hours one way
28. I-Gogs sunglasses, "Jams" shorts (really long), Hawaiian print shirts, flourescent clothes (swim trunks, shorts, T-shirts, shoelaces), Reebok high-tops, boat shoes, jean shorts rolled at the bottom


Thumbs down to *you*, lady!! Hey, Kool-Aid!!