More Memories of Summer

* Falling asleep to the shade hitting the window when the breeze stopped blowing.
* Spraying Sun-In on my hair (the super strength, never just the regular) and laying out in the sun (the blow dryer was always much speedier).
* Live Aid - July 13, 1985. Yet another 90 degree day and I pretty much melted into the gold velour rocker we had as I spent all day watching this. I even skipped my younger brother's baseball game which was at the park that had the hot guy working the batting cage next door who seemed to always wear the 'Where's the Beef?' shirt.
* Boys playing baseball.
* Getting excited when a sunburn was ready to peel.
* The smell of Noxzema when I first acquired the sunburn.
* Exploring the alleys around the neighborhood on my cute blue Schwinn Stingray with the pink flowered banana seat and the license plate that came in the Honeycomb box.
* Biting it on this same bike when I tried to ride it without hands...around the cul-de-sac at the end of the street (I'm not the brightest sometimes).
* The scar on my ankle that reminds me of that folly.
* Watching the boys play wiffle ball in the front yard (the Lawn Nazi forbade anyone to play on his grass so his boys came over to ours). Home plate was the dirt patch next to our driveway, first base was the porch step, second was usually a frisbee on the Lawn Nazi's driveway and third base was the curb.
* Watching my brother use a small wooden bat that were usually sold at ball games as souvenirs to hit a waffle ball...only to see the wooden bat fly out of his hand and through the picture window...and my dad's irate face soon poking out.
* The Fourth of July picnic with my mom's side of the family followed by fireworks in the parking lot of Polly's grocery store.
* My grandmother's yearly comment at the Fourth of July picnic: "Well, now that the 4th of July is here, are you getting ready to go back to school?" WTF Grandma, it's still early July!!
* The $5 this same grandmother would send me every June for my birthday along with a card addressed to 'Marriane'. I don't think she ever got the one 'r' and two 'n's down before she died. Sure, there are a variety of ways to spell my name but 'Marriane'? Really? Again I say...WTF Grandma?!?
* The next door neighbor of this same grandmother who would water his grass in a Speedo (and I do mean a Speedo, no shorts or regular swim trunks for him) and deck shoes. Believe me, it looked as gross as it sounds.

A new memory for this summer...the bike I bought about 10 years ago when I liked the one Big A bought has been refreshed and ready to be rode (ridden?). In total, I've only rode it maybe 5 times, at best. I feel the urge to load it up and explore state parks now. It's not the blue Schwinn with the flowered seat and it has way more gears than I know what to do with but I do know that I will not be trying to ride it without hands...or at least trying that while going in a circle.