Summer was very hot. We cooled off outside by draping a hose over a mimosa tree and running under the hose. There was a family, the Whelan's, who had a large vinyl pool and they would invite us up to their house to swim sometimes. My sister Pam had been in the pool and got out to lie on her towel; when she was stung by a wasp on her back. That was the end of her day in the pool.
A built in pool in ones backyard was not a very common thing to have. I do remember that my cousins Judy and Nancy had one in their back yard. Most children we knew had wading pools or the big round family pool that the Whealan family had. Other options for swimming were to go to a public pool or to the beach.
Inside activities in the summer included mother teaching us how to embroider. I decided to trace a very large rooster on to a pillow case. This was a summer project and when it was complete I was so proud of my handiwork. I chose the rooster because I knew I could use a lot of different colors. The rooster picture was placed in the middle of my pillow case and I soon found out that you can not sleep on the embroidered side of a pillow.
After dinner, we would waite anxiously for the Good Humor Ice Cream man. We were given a nickel for a popsicle. If we saved our allowance or skipped one night of a popsicle, we could buy a ten cent item. My favorite was the toasted almond bar.
The Good Humor man drove a bright white truck with a larger than life Good Humor Ice Cream bar painted on the side of it. He wore a crisp professional looking white uniform with a white cap. Usually it was always the same person and all the parents and children got to know him. We knew just about what time we were going to see that truck and hear that bell.
The Good Humor man was a part of my mother's memory and mine as children; but by the time that my daughter was old enough to buy ice cream from a truck, everything had changed drastically. I would not allow my daughter or later my grandchildren to buy from this street vendor in the ratty looking truck and the less than professional looking person driving it. A piece of one of my childhood memories had turned into something unpleasant to be around.
When it got dark, we caught lightning bugs. God made these little creatures unique by giving them a glow-in-the-dark tail light. The lightning bugs were fascinating to us as children. We would race around catching them and placing them in a jar, this brought many hours of laughter and joy.
Lightning bugs were as much a part of summer as fireworks and cold pieces of watermelon. God created the lightning bugs just to make a child smile. I wonder, do children still enjoy God's little creature, the lightning bug?
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
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