My summer vacations from days gone by sure were better than the 2020 COVID-19 version
It was one of the first assignments of every new school year.
Class: please write an essay on, “How I Spent My Summer Vacation.”
200 words or more.
You can write on both sides of your paper.
Cursive only; stay in the margins.
It was a favorite assignment. I was a word kid. Loved spelling bees. I wrote about my summer baseball teams, pets, vacations, camps, family barbecues, in detail more than anyone cared to read.
There was so much to write about summer when summer was really summer.
What would I write about this year?
Hmmmmm ...
First question: When did summer start, anyway?
I wasn’t asked, but here is my back-to-school essay:
How I Spent My Summer Vacation 2020
It’s been a weird summer. Passed quickly. But slowly, too. Still safe, healthy, employed and getting my news from sources other than Facebook.
Mostly, this summer, I have focused on avoiding others. Yes, that is as weird as it reads. Every summer of my life, a goal was to gather with family, friends, strangers. Ballgames. Concerts. Maximize the warmth and sunshine. Wear sunscreen, Red! This summer, the goal was to avoid contact. No handshakes or hugs. No barbecues or town homecomings. Weird.
I wore a mask. It’s not a big deal. I am not sure I ever wore a mask in any previous summer except a catcher’s mask.
No special or fancy summer vacations to write about. We canceled a few good travel plans, though. Missed the Cardinals playing in Boston in June. And no trips to Florida. Maybe next year. When summer gets back to being summer again.
I watched a lot of reruns on TV. It seemed like I was watching the same shows, on the same day, every week. It took me awhile to figure out I was.
Cardinal games and bike rides
I watched a little Cardinals baseball. I hope to watch more but it’s day-to-day, I guess. It has made me realize just why baseball is my national pastime. I miss it.
Weird watching baseball games with no fans in the stands. The lone plus is there are no fans sitting behind home plate on their cell phones.
I rode my new bike a lot. I kept a good distance from others on the bike trail. That’s intentional but mostly because I ride slower than most adult riders. Genetically, I am more tortoise than hare.
I played golf most weekends with my buddies. We follow all COVID rules. The golf is weak but friendships remain strong. With every year, I increase my chances to someday golf my age. Here’s to living to 101!
Missing my old friend
And I spent a lot of time this summer thinking about my old friend, summer.
When summer showed up on Memorial Day weekend and ended Labor Day weekend. That used to be our school schedule, too. It was easy to remember.
I thought about the July 4 holiday. That was always the halftime of summer vacation. At night, we’d sit on the curb and watch fireworks light up the sky in distant neighborhoods. We had a few sparklers, smoke bombs and firecrackers. As we got older, we hollowed out the ends of the skinny yellow Whiffle ball bats and used them to shoot bottle rockets at one another. Crazy.
Water fights, game of the week
Summer was a water fight in the backyard, and a one-day trip to the St. Louis Zoo, and watching the old monkey show a couple of times.
Summer was watching the NBC Game of the Week every Saturday afternoon. Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek. It was the only chance to see American League players like Al Kaline, Elston Howard, Rod Carew, Boog Powell and Rocky Colavito. My baseball cards came alive every Saturday afternoon.
Suddenly, summer disappeared. It was Labor Day and Jerry Lewis sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” on his TV telethon.
“I’m not crying; you are ...”
Next thing, I was in the classroom writing an essay about the past summer, as fast as it was slow.
I hope this essay is easier to write this time next year.
When summer returns to being summer again.