Just about the only ways to survive the
100% humidity and heat of a South
Carolina summer are to camp indoors
under air conditioning as much as
possible and to wear as few pieces of
clothing as legally allowed. During the
months of July through September it
feels as if this
is hell revisited with no reprieve in
sight. Within thirty minutes of
attempting to "fix" yourself
up into a presentable human being these
efforts prove to be futile. The only
known "cure" for summer heat
and humidity is the dead of winter cold.
It is extremely hard to keep that
thought in mind now at the height of
"hell season." Cold weather is
eventually coming, just not fast
enough for most people. Then again, once
winter's here, the same people who
complain about the oppressive heat will
equally complain about the cold.
I remember endless summers when I was
younger (back in the late 60's and early
70's) where most of the neighborhood
kids would gather at someone's home who
had a swimming pool and stay there all
day long. The possibility that anyone
would be kidnapped or abused didn't even
exist.
Drugs and alcohol were no issue yet,
either, because at this point nobody in
our crowd had heard anything about them.
Even though most of the mothers in our
neighborhood worked full-time jobs, it
was understood that we were welcome in
their homes when they were away as long
as we behaved ourselves and didn't get
too rowdy.
Bowls of chocolate or vanilla ice
cream eaten in the largest bowls we
could find sure tasted great while we
were sitting on the front porch,
watching the morning vapors rise off of
the asphalt road in front of our house.
We quickly learned to wear tennis shoes
anytime we had to walk out on the
pavement or risk having severely burned
feet. Everyone kept a tan the entire
time, not giving a single thought to the
now dreaded and almost commonplace
melanoma. Tank tops, shorts, and bathing
suits were the outfits DE rigeur. And
nobody worried about "body image
issues." Ah the good old days of
youth.
The sweet smells of honey suckle
vines, pine trees, and sunshine always
combine to give summer its unique
flavor. When I was growing up, our house
was always full of home grown tomatoes,
cucumbers, corn, and squash. Our next
door neighbor grew grapes on our fence
so we had those all summer long also.
There is nothing quite like the smell of
summer in the South. Too bad we can't
bottle summer's essence and sale it when
the weather turns cold!
?© 2003 Lynne Stevenson
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Blessings to you.
Bob Johnston
Minneapolis
Starfish @ Ripplemaker.com
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