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JWG's Experimental Eccentric — July 11 & 12, 2011

Wherein JWG briefly reminisces about dealing with hot summers. (Which seem a lark after a hurricane!)

Zwerglipatch  July 11, 2011  6:29 p.m. EDT

As René heats up some pea soup made by our neighbor Linda, I, at last, am taking the time to scribble a few words. I shan’t write a great deal about this steamy weather that we are all wishing away so we can be comfortable outside.

Today, I thought about the characters from my hometown of Hancock, New Hampshire. Which ones shall I share? Which shall make their way into these pages? Life in a small town is colorful. Life in any neighborhood is colorful. The novel Peyton Place was based on a New Hampshire town. Growing up, I heard, constantly, the expression “just like Peyton Place”. In junior high, when I read Peyton Place, the characters and situations did not dismay me. I knew those characters. I lived in my own Peyton Place.

 

Zwerglipatch  July 12, 2011  6:54 a.m. EDT

Gracious, when one gets out of bed at five and the day is muggy, one does minimal work in the gardens. Thank goodness that the sun is shielded by a layer of thin clouds. I feel like a clam pulled out of a warm tidal pool.

I spoke too soon. The sun has burned a hole in the clouds. Its heat is felt. Young trees wilt. (I’ve already wilted.)

I think back on past summer days which were hotter than hot.

As a youngster, I’d get on my bike and go uptown to swim; or, I’d go and lie on the moss-covered railroad track by the brook.

As a twenty-something, I would head to the Manhattan piers where the Hudson River always had a breeze to cool hot heads. Those were happy days, too.

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
swataz May 23, 2013 at 10:17 am
With the budget "we" just passed? That can't be!
robkoz May 23, 2013 at 09:52 am
"Why are Smithtown teachers continuing to pay for school supplies out of their ownRead More pocket?" Since when? Ever see the big list of supplies kids get in their folders at the end of the year for them to bring in next year? I think you're talking about the wrong school district.