Today is National Lemonade Day. I wonder how many kids set up lemonade stands anymore? All you need is a big canister of Country Time lemonade crystals, a jug of water, a big stir stick, some plastic cups and you’re good to go. That is, unless you’re a purist and insist on making your own lemonade, i.e. buying fresh lemons, squeezing them, grating the rind to make some zest and floating a few slices of lemon on top for added pizzazz. Kids: opt for the Country Time and make it easy on yourself, but do get that mixture just right … not too sour or you’ll have everyone puckering up, not too grainy where the crystals sink to the bottom of the jug like sand in the ocean, and please don’t be stingy when scooping or your lemonade will taste like the lemon ran through the water.

I never see any kids in the neighborhood hawking lemonade … we’ve got alot of parks with baseball games going on all the time or soccer practice – they could even set up shop at Council Point Park. I did hear on the national news awhile back that some kids were trying to make a few bucks with a lemonade stand and got ripped off by some bullies. The young entrepreneurs lost all their substantial profits as well as their faith in mankind. The audacity! It leaves a sour taste in my mouth, if you’ll pardon the pun.

I remember setting up a Kool-Aid stand with a childhood friend here in Michigan. We didn’t get much action though at our small table set up in the apron of the driveway, and at day’s end the ice had melted and watered down our product after hours of sitting out in the hot sun. Location, location, location!!!

I was never allowed to drink pop as a kid. My mom wanted to preserve my pearly whites against cavities so I was only given milk or freshly squeezed orange juice which was very tart. Once in a great while I’d steal a sip of my Dad’s Bitter Lemon drink when he left the bottle unattended. I don’t think I tasted lemonade until I was in my teens, if not later.

Well the people who create events like National Lemonade Day must have been prophetic to pick well in advance one of the handful of days it has actually been hot this Summer. Today was an Ozone Action Day and the heat and humidity have made their second cameo appearance this Summer … for a couple of days anyway.

Tropical is always topical when it comes to weather. At the grocery store, two complete strangers can strike up a conversation about the weather then just walk away. This morning, at Council Point Park, two walkers passing on the path, like two ships in the night, just have to pause to remark how hot it is and ask what happened to the refreshing weather we’ve enjoyed the last few weeks. I saw a few walkers toting water bottles and mopping their brow with a towel. Well folks, this is the reward for the people who whined that the Summer of 2013 had passed us by. I think they are in the minority, don’t you? I certainly don’t welcome the sticky weather, but when life gives you lemons, make lemonade – I went on a walk anyway. Halfway through my walk, I realized I had over-dressed and I was getting warm and had no layers to remove and still be decent. (Smile) I passed a tall spruce tree which was aromatic in the humid air, and even it could not evoke memories of Christmas, cold weather or sipping steaming mugs of hot cocoa with marshmallows. There was no chilling effect when I passed a huge snowball bush laden with snowballs either. It was too early for the Good Humor truck thus nothing could conjure up any cold images to cool me off and I came home feeling like a limp rag. I swigged down some chocolate milk, my daily treat when I return from walking, but you know … a cold lemonade would have surely hit the spot. I should have headed over to 7-Eleven where they were giving away bottles of Snapple lemonade today.