What a perfect Summer day we had today; they just don’t get any better than this. Do you remember when you were a kid and returned to school in the Fall and your first assignment was to write a paper entitled “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” ??? Whether you and your family spent time at the sandy shore, on a scenic tour, camping or maybe a car trip to see Grandma and Grandpa, you got to write about it … maybe even read it aloud to your classmates. But admit it – the best part of Summer were the simple pleasures. The stuff that Summer is made of – maybe not worth committing the memories to a piece of paper and turning in to the teacher, but good times anyway. What Summer memories do you have? If I had to list some of my best Summer moments growing up I’d have to say:

SPLASHING with my best friend in a three-ring pool that took my mom a half-hour to blow up, then waiting for the sun to warm the pool water before stepping in and testing the temperature with my big toe.

SQUEALS of delight from running through the sprinkler or soaker hose.

SAMPLING raspberries that grew wild on a huge bush in my best friend’s yard. We’d sit on the back porch and reach over and grab a handful – no worries about pesticide, disease or bugs – we just popped them into our mouths like M&Ms.

SCOOPS of vanilla ice cream in a tall glass and a big straw and watching fizzy drinks like Red Pop or Vernors melting and creating a frothy treat, half of which ended up around the corners of my mouth.

SLURPEES and frozen Cokes, so cold I swore I had brain freeze because the sweet frozen crystals jammed up in my straw and I’d inhale ‘til I’d nearly burst.

SADDLING up for horseback riding at Boots and Saddles Stables after swimming and grilling hotdogs and hamburgers on the Hibachi at Holiday Beach in Amherstburg.

SIZZLING on a hot Summer day while I rode my bike or played outside. I’d be having so much fun, I never wanted to go inside, even when my mom hollered my name to come in for lunch or dinner.

SPENDING allowance at the sidewalk sales or the art fairs every weekend.

SWIGGING sun tea right from the container.

All of these events and treats were tumbling around in my head this morning while I was walking. Two slice-o-life instances got me thinking and reminiscing about simpler times and simple pleasures. I walked later than usual today and it was nearly 10:00 a.m. when I finally left. No problem since it wasn’t hot, but more there were more people to people-watch.

First, I heard the unmistakable sound of the ice cream man toodling down the street, with the sweet strains of “Turkey in the Straw” sounding his arrival. If anything is synonymous with Summer it is the frozen treats, whether sipped through a straw, scooped up or on a stick. If you want to see kids come out of the woodwork, just let them hear the music signaling the ice cream wagon is nearby. It is a Pavlovian response, even if the identical ice cream treats are in the kitchen freezer. This ice cream vendor was no slouch; he was headed next to a baseball field where Little League practice had finished and both teams’ players were flopped down on the ground or queuing up at the water fountain. Well, most of the parents lined up along the wooden bleachers had the same Pavlovian response as their kids when they heard the ice cream truck, only they started immediately digging for treat money. The moms reached over for their purses and the dads shifted to one buttocks to retrieve their wallet from a back pocket. Ah…the Good Humor Man. Well that takes me back, as I recall chomping on a Drumstick, mmmmmm … the chocolaty-peanuty taste was always my favorite, but sometimes I’d buck the trend and get an orange push-up Creamsicle. Treats on a stick were tricky and sticky. You had to unwrap and eat them in record time, because once a Fudgsicle starts melting, it becomes a brown, runny mess in less than five minutes and soon fudge “dots” would be freckling your already-brown-as-a-berry skin. Likewise for Popsicles. I wonder if they still make the side-by-side Popsicles with two sticks? It was an art to separate a double Popsicle to share it with your best friend, without losing half of it as it landed onto your toes. What parts of the Popsicle you salvaged, usually ended up running down your chin.

My walk took me past a corner house with a huge backyard in-ground pool. As I passed the yard with its five-foot high stockade fence, I saw four pairs of eyes staring at me over the top of the fence, à la Wilson on the TV show “Home Improvement”. The kids must’ve been standing on a picnic table and I waved “hi” and for my cordiality I received four, multi-colored tongues sticking out at me. I told them it was not cool to stick your Technicolored tongue out, even if you did it just because you just finished a Popsicle and you wanted to show off your cool-looking tongue. One of the kids asked me how I knew they had Popsicles? I told them I was a kid once too and had Turbo Rocket Pops and it did not take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

Next, I saw a woman filling up a low, metal wading pool with a garden hose while two toddlers stood by with restless anticipation; it seemed she could not fill it quickly enough as they kept dancing around and asking “can we go in now Mom?” … if I shut my eyes, I pictured Linda Crosby and I wearing our sunbonnets and sitting in my three-ring, yellow vinyl kiddie pool. I kept walking and on the return trip I decided to take a peek and see how the little girls were enjoying their pool. The pool languished there, looking inviting with its cool, clear water and instead, the kids were spraying each other with the garden hose and giggling in delight. I had to smile too. Kids!!