summer things never change

summer is here
no homework...
relaxed schedule....
freedom....

i'm watching my kids struggle a bit with the adjustment
from too much structure
to all out 4 wheel drive recess


takes me back to summers i spent as a kid
pre X-box, guitar hero ( i am a guitar zero..but have plans to make a big push)
pre netflix, blockbuster , ipod
pre yahoo google blogger...
what the hell did i do with all of that time?

i did a lot of what i like still like doing now..
hanging out in or on the water
although i now prefer non-chlorinated
hitting tennis balls
listening to music
typing away
losing myself in the lives of others on a page...

today i listened to some Beatles...Let it Be..Naked
i'm still typing away
and right now
it's time to break open my new can of tennis balls .
popping open that airtight can is easily
one of the best sounds on earth .
a nostalgic pop
that packs a powerful punch of
sweaty, joyful childhood memories.

watched Venus swing it today.
Wimbledon still has the power
to make me get my butt to the court..
as a kid in the 70's tennis was at it's peak.
you had to stand around and wait for a court to open up.
not once in a while, but every time you went to play.
the cult of personality was overwhelming:Connors, McEnroe, Martrina, Chrissy, Nastase, Borg, Billie Jean, Arthur Ashe.
somehow as luck would have it, Jimmy Connors played an exhibition in Rochester against Vitas Guerilitis..and i got to see and HEAR them live. Tennis is so much about sound..the lusty grunts, the sneakers squealing, the gorgeous plunk of a perfectly hit backhand .
and in the case of jimmy connors, the never ending stream of one liners hurled at the line judge, his opponent or himself when he blew a shot.

every winter i forget how much i love the game.
every summer
i remember.

top five

top five things on my mind:

1) where are all those carpenter ants in my kitchen coming from?
2) will the ant traps work?
3)why do i feel guilty about killing said ants?
4)is death by ant trap more humane than death by squashing?
5) if you see an ant walking out of a box of cereal, do you throw the whole box out?

quote of the day

"Fearlessness is the mother of invention."

Arianna Huffington

as one who has spent much of her life being plagued by fears and phobias,
i'm wondering:
can someone change their essential nature?
can someone find more courage and more heart without making a trip to see the wizard?
are we able to make fundamental changes to who we are, or just incremental?

i'm feeling restless today.
want to change everything
from the color of the walls of my house
to the color of my hair
want to live somewhere different

drive something different ( of course!)
see something different
do something different..
but i'll probably wind up mulching.

when i feel the need to change the externals,
it's probably a sign that the internals
are what need to change.
when the internal changes
everything else may stay the same,
but everything looks different.

i feel
summer coming..
it brings with it
a warm strong sensuous wind
that blows the dust off
the year that has been,

and brings electricity.