E, F, G

 E = EVENING

Summer's extra hours of daylight provide the occasion to linger longer, to lounge more, to simply be and listen and observe the gifts of a chorus of crickets and the flash and dash of lighting bugs. When I began my pastoral appointment in Erie, at various intervals some parishioners came to greet the new pastor and made it imperative to take me to Presque Isle to watch the sunset. The conversation paused, we sat in stillness each "aware and grateful for the God-ness of the moment."

F= FLOATS 

One learns to swim by first beginning to float --- to trust the water, open to it, secure in its support.  

I belong the Dormont Pool --- a gift for the region; over 100 years old and 100 yards long, ranging from depths of 1 foot to 9 feet, always cold, always adequate space for many. 

In the pool one will find an abundance of floats including rafts in various colors, inner tubes, inflatable popsicles, pizza slices, llamas and unicorns. 

After a swim, some pool patrons partake in that other float staple of summer: the root beer float. My preferred ingredients: "Ben and Jerry's" vanilla ice cream and A&W Root beer....."Bottoms Up!  

G = GOLF

One summer some friends and my oldest brother got into golf.  I too joined in the game of low score on the links.  I began by borrowing a set of clubs and then my brother made me a set of left-handed clubs (he's that kind of guy).  I used being left handed as an excuse along with having played softball for many, many years as the two reasons as to why I stunk. 

I could never find my golf zen, my calm center.  As golfers can attest, one can play a hole quite well and then the next one start with a sliced drive of 20 yards, an ad infinitum of approach shots and multiple, maddening putts.....I became a yeller of profanities and a hurler of clubs. 

B, C, D

 BAREFOOT

Near the work bench in the basement hanging on the wooden beam was a framed color photo of one of my brother's barefeet. He had taken the photo while sitting with his feet up on the railing of the back porch. Obviously really liked it cause he framed it.

Going barefoot is a good practice and summer is the ideal time. One goes barefoot on the beach, hoping for that good walking sand which is smooth and hardened by the water.  Take a few laps in the lawn, feel the wet of morning dew and later the heat of the earth warmed by summer sun.

Kids are great teachers of this practice for freedom is their calling card. 

CORN-ON-THE-COB 

Full, lush, green, tall corn fields are a set image of the season of summer.  My parents were gardeners and along with tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, onions and herbs the entire upper half of the field was rows upon rows of corn. Every Spring my brothers and I helped my dad plant the corn, the rows were ruler straight as he pounded in stakes on either side of the tilled garden and ran a string  then hoed evenly spaced holes.  It was my job to place the corn seed in each hole doing so in the pattern of a five on a set of dice.  My father walked the rows checking my work and many times I watched him use a stick to move a corn seed better into place. Dad was a bit Type A.

It was a big moment when the corn was ready to pick. I would accompany my dad as he carried the yellow-wired basket and we picked ears of corn then walked down to the burn barrel on the far side of the driveway and husked it.  

Other than breakfast, we had corn-on-the-cob at every meal during summer.

Like turkey on Thanksgiving, summer meals require corn-on-the-cob.

DECKS

There are signs that signal the start of a new season.  As a kid, when Mum and Dad brought out the porch furniture, summer arrived. 

Grab a glass of iced tea, a good book, a cup of coffee and some homemade cookies and enjoy all while sitting on the glider on the porch.  We gathered on the porch and talked, laughed and watched the traffic go by. Holy ground.

Now, you will find me in summer on my deck. There I have my morning coffee, read, listen to bird song, do work and in the evening recline back in the gravity chair and look up through the trees.....glorious.

'You just sit there, looking up at tree limbs and leaves??!!!  Get out!"  

I do and that is the point......

Summer light

One of my favorite images is sunlight on water, the trail of light and the sparkle.  Summer is the season of light and as this blog finally resumes, the plan for the next several posts is to do what has been a summer staple of this blog: The Summer ABCs. 

These posts too will "keep it light." 

My challenge is to come up with new associations for each letter (for past Summer ABCs check the Blog Archive, Years 2012 and 2021).  Previous alphabets of summer had "Allegheny River" and "All Day" for the letter A ....for this new summer season of ABC's  A is for....

A = Aaahhhh

Summer is the season of a relaxed pace, of savoring the first tomato of the season, of gravity chairs and sitting by waters. Listen closely and you'll hear persons easing into the deck chair, wading along the shore and getting that initial splash of water, floating on a raft in the pool, and that first sip of a cold beer on a hot day ....each exclaim, "aaahhhhh...."  May this summer season now past it's halfway point provide many, many more moments of aahhhs......