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.