Hi, friends and welcome to July, the hottest time of the year in Indiana! While summer isn’t my favorite season of the year, it is the one that seems to have made the most memories. And since A Genuine Fix makes its arrival on July 16, the day my father was born, I thought it might be fun to share some of those memories of being a kid in the summer.
I grew up in the seventies, in a neighborhood in which most moms were at home, if you wanted to go somewhere you walked or rode a bike, and the only TV worth watching was on Saturday mornings. School was out by Memorial Day and we didn’t return until Labor Day, so that meant we had three full months of summer fun.
Out of the house.
If you’ve seen the delightful film The Sandlot, you’ll recall Scottie Smalls and his pals spent the summer playing baseball, going swimming, or spending the night with friends. Growing up, my summers were a lot like that. I played baseball at Irvington Little League and played in the water at the local YMCA. That’s me in the middle of the back row in the picture below.
1978 Irvington Little League Major Division Yankees
Another thing I did every year was participate in the library’s summer reading program. Every week, my friends and I would visit the Brown Branch Library. We’d turn in our books at the reading program and watch with wide eyes, tingling with excitement, as the librarian punched new holes in our cards to signify the points we’d earned over the past seven days.
Brown Branch Library circa 2910. Photo credit Indianapolis Public Library
Most of us cashed in our points as soon as possible and got small prizes like candy rings or plastic bugs. A few had the discipline to let those points add up and get something really cool, like a new book, later in the summer.
Man, that was fun.
It also played a big role in cementing my love for reading. These days, my swing is a little slow for baseball and I’m past my prime playing Marco Polo. I’m still in love with books, though. The Brown Branch library is no more, replaced by the larger and more modern Irvington Branch. But the memories remain. For me, the library will always be a part of the best of summer, just like baseball and swimming.
Thanks for stopping by and letting me share with you a few summer reflections. So, how about you? What are some of your favorite summer memories? Tell me about them.
Until next time, wishing you sunny skies and warm breezes!
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