Seasons’ Greetings… or… Less is more…

Ya gotta love summer…

We Midwesterners cuss, shiver, slip/slide, wring our shirts out, cringe when the mailman delivers our gas bill, drag the light jackets, down jackets, flannel sheets, down comforters - etc - JUST to enable ourselves to finally, FINALLY, get to this timea year….

Our eyes are perked by things of beauty…. Wouldya rather go see a movie with The Rock in it or with Lyle Lovette?… Cameron Diaz or Rosie O’Donnell?

Summer brings out beauty. Put frankly, winter/spring/fall - bods are covered. Sure, brings out the element of curiosity - but summer leaves no doubt.

Tan is associated with healthy. 90 degrees is associated with “Ahm, honey, I’ve gotta run to WalMart… we’re down to three extra light bulbs.”

Less is more. Let’s greet the season. (My goofy - I LOVED HER - Elementary Principal where I tought was writing a letter one day… she was mid brain-fart.. Looked up.. The PE teacher happened by.. .she looked (at me) and said… “I’m having a brain-freeze (I called it brain-fart).. I’m trying to spell greet.. It’s G-R-E-A-T isn’t it?” My idol, my hero, my adolation asking ME this? I giggled, said “well… that’s a GREAT way to spell it.. But no.. it’s G-R-E-E-T.”

Summer means float trips, little league games, flying bugs, water, water, water, water. Attention paid to sunsets. Mowers roaring, orange barrels on Interstate, way more daylight, activity, the “want” to get out, plain ole general excitement.

As much as I bitch, moan, groan, sulk, say “BRRRR”, gripe, complain, about every time of year besides now - and as many times as I’ve threatened to pack all, get the hell outta Dodge, not look back and go get wrinkles in Florida -- I love the Midwest - especially summertime. Like life, so goes the Midwest. If ya didn’t have the sucky, the yummy wouldn’t taste quite so good.

There’s a bigass rock at work next to the curb. Sometimes on break I sit on the curb and use the rock kinda like a dentist’s chair. (I hate the dentist, love the little headrest things and the gas.. Why don’t they use gas any more? Was kinda like legally getting high.) And from this rock I am euphoric. I feel the rays, I close my eyes, and it feels damn near as good as a massage.

Today, mid-rain… Chicky on break says “Oh I wish I was on my screened in porch right now. It’s heavenly in a summer rain.” Even rain doesn’t piss one off in the summer.

Moods are generally better. People don’t drag their feet as the workday ends - they kinda skip to their cars in anticipation of “what’s on the docket out-and-about tonight?”

I don’t have a good end to this. (Victor, did anyone say the beginning or middle was good?) No, as a matterafact they didn’t. Where were we? Oh yeah, ends. Summer is synonymous with ends. Women wear spandex to the Piggly Wiggly. Don’t scoff at me - I’m certain you pigettes stare at the the Wranglers walking in the Farm and Home store.. Or at the baggy cargo shorts and the booties insidea them.

Pack your days full. Get nexta/into water. Try some crap ya ain’t tried in ten years. Rent something. I dunno, hell a 4-wheeler, a pontoon, a tent camper, a bouncy thing for the kids. Just live it. Do it.

Were you aware some even go ‘commando’ in the summer? Sorry, the bouncy thing reminded me of that one. (We gots this “You might be a redneck if” daily calendar at work.. Todays was “If your granny goes braless in her tube top.” Hehe.) Again, onea my alltime favorite stories.. Worlds of Fun, hell maybe 15 years ago. With kid on the Centrifugal ride. You know, it’s a circular thingy, you get 30 people in there up agin’ the wall, they start spinning it faster, and faster, and FASTER, and FASTER… You’re glued up agin’ the wall.. You can’t move your hands…The air into your open mouth makes your lips contorted, uneven… AND THEN.. You focus on the gal directly across from you (True Story).. And her tank top had fallen down. Uh huh, there they were, “lefty and righty” a starin’ right atme. She couldn’t raise her arms to fix. Glued they were to the wall by the force of the ride. I couldn’t unfix my eyes offa ‘them’. Musta been the force of the ride. I definitely got my money’s worth that day.

Enjoy you’re summer. I am. (Speakin’ o’ renting. Ain’t found me that rental car yet. I was semi-kinda-sorta-real serious about that. At this age, seems there’s more realism as to “how much longer is left?” and usage of same. Oh well, least I can enjoy people watching at the Piggly Wiggly, work, WalMart, The Royals, Little League games, etc.

Hope it’s a tantastic summer for you. May you wear less and do more. May you have “Ohhhh my God” moments behind the eyeballs whilst you’re out and about. Even if “with another” - let urself go to have piggish thoughts. (It’s the acting upon them that sucks!).. Feast, examine, observe, enjoy, partake (in your own dress.) A summertime.. And livin’ is easy… so hush pretty baby… dooooo’ooon’t you cry… Loveya, Victurd.