My grandfather was and is summer to me. As I sat this evening in the backyard, I could feel a soft summer breeze cool me down. It was a welcomed change from the level of mugginess that possessed the last few days. He and my grandmother,however, would sit in 90 degree heat, and he would even at times have a wool sweater near by just in case. My brothers and sister and I would sit there, sweating, taking a quick break by picking tomatoes from their backyard or investigating what was really in the mulch pile towards the edge of the lot. I don't think I ever saw my grandfather sweat. On the radio, the summer staple was Frank Sinatra's Summer Wind. We would listen to that song over and over; he adored that Sinatra song. The lyrics though are a bit different to me now as I sit here missing my grandfather on this lemonade drinking, icy pop eating, sunkissed skinwearing, classic summer day.
"Like painted kites, those days and nights - went flyin by
The world was new, beneath a blue - umbrella sky
Then softer than, a piper man - one day it called to you
And I lost you, to the summer wind"
I know he would of loved this evening, would have seen the robins and felt the heat, maybe would have hit a few golf balls, or took a nice swim at Joseph Davis Park. Maybe he is in the summer wind that brushed by my family's hair, cooled us off, and reminded us about the beauty of the unencumbered every day.
For Thomas O'Laughlin and Margaret O'Laughlin
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3 comments:
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Nice~
Add baked fish, buttery green beans and mashed potatos.
That is a beautiful memory/tribute - my O'Laughlin tear ducts are working overtime.
love,
Thomas
Mom wanted me to post this, this is her comment:
"Grandma and Grandpa loved the summer wind!and all things summer....picking strawberries on the first day school let out, cherry picking, spitting the pits
over the porch rail, picnics at Beaver Island or Joesph Davis instead of cleaning out the cellar, and happy days reading on the porch and having a great
conversation. My childhood summers were all that with swimming lessions, walks to the library to try and read all of the "Nancy Drew" adventures (she was
a girl who I admired--adventuous, smart, quick wit, and knew a good tip when she saw it) and traveled to many places from "Hans Brinker and His Silver
Skates, "Little Women", "Little Men", "Clara Barton" and "Florence Nightengale". I started to think about becoming a nurse as a little girl on that porch.
The summer wind brings me back to those happy days too, I miss them but are grateful to have been part of their life. Mom XXX OOO"
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