Friday, July 6, 2012

Summer Mishaps and Family Traditions

Well, Fourth of July has come and gone.  Looking at another day (several more days, actually) of triple digit temperatures.  I'm trying to keep the veggie garden and some of the flowers watered but I think the grass is toast.  Or is that toasted?

We had a classic summer moment last weekend.  My thirteen year old grandson came home from a week at Scout camp.  A mini-crisis in the family had elected me as the welcome home chauffeur. The bus rolled in (after a 15 hour ride) at 2:00 a.m.  He stumbled off, looking taller than when he left, tanned brown, hair sun bleached and stiff with lake water and lack of shampoo, sunburn peeling across his nose, every inch of exposed skin liberally dotted with bug bites...and no glasses.

Before Camp

I hugged him (he still lets me). I asked if he'd had fun.  He had.  Except for the mosquitoes.  Then I asked, as casually as I could, if his glasses were in his backpack. Um....no.  They were at the bottom of a very large lake in Wisconsin.

The next day, his father (my youngest) posted on Facebook that he was glad to have his son home, even without his glasses and teased him a bit for losing them.  Before I could comment, one of my son's high school friends jumped in with..."I remember you losing yours at Kings Island...  It was the chute from the water ride that knocked them off..."  

I could write a book on the creative ways my sons found to lose or destroy their glasses (and contacts) over the years.  The ladies at the optical store knew my voice so well, all I had to say was "Hi" and they asked, "Which one?" and placed the order for  a new pair.

Nice to know some things never change.

Something else that never changes - foot in mouth.  I was at my local writer's group meeting last night and we were discussing our public reading coming up in August.  Got the date and location, just needed a theme. For some unknown reason, I piped up, "long, hot summer".  Maybe I was thinking of one of my favorite classic movies. There were a few off-color interpretations then the idea was accepted.  So now I have to write a short piece of some kind (under ten minutes) to read next month related to a long, hot summer.  I have zero ideas.  Contrary to what I said above, I don't think a litany of my sons' eyeglasses mishaps would work.  Anyone have a bright idea for me?  Beyond keeping my mouth shut next time?

Okay, that's it for the Friday rambling.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.  Stay cool and be safe.

Quotes for Today:  (on revision)

"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile." Robert Cormier

"The difference between the right and the nearly right word is the same as that between lightning and the lightning bug." Mark Twain

"The wastebasket is the writer's best friend." Isaac Singer


26 comments:

Maryannwrites said...

With your gift of humor, I bet you could write something really neat as a spoof of The Long Hot Summer. One of my favorite movies, by the way. Paul Newman at his best. YUM!!!

Linda G. said...

I know you'll write something great!

And sorry about the lost glasses. Been there, done that, with myself and my kiddos.

Maria Zannini said...

How about doing a slice of life bit from when you were a kid during a long hot summer?

PS Good of you to remind your son that the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree. :)

Kimber Leszczuk. said...

I have some geat ideas for that theme

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Go stand outside until an idea hits. Bet one hits really fast!

LD Masterson said...

Maryann - They don't make them like Paul any more. That spoof idea is interesting. Thanks.

LD Masterson said...

Linda G. - If there are glasses they'll be lost glasses. It a given.

Maybe I'll tell the story of how my older son's contact lens was found on the handle of the milk jug in the fridge. (True.)

LD Masterson said...

Maria - I thought of that but there are so many e-mails floating around right now with summer nostalgia (for my generation) I'm not sure I could make it fresh.

And, yeah, he's a nut off the big oak.

LD Masterson said...

Kim - For sharing or are you joining us next month?

LD Masterson said...

Alex - I tried that, but "It's really freakin' hot out here!" seems a bit short for a reading.

Carol Kilgore said...

Just bring back some of your summer memories and you'll think of the perfect story to write.

Happy Weekend!

Angela Brown said...

Hey, go from "It's really freakin' hot out here!" to a short tale of the mystery that caused the heat to rise so quick, so fast...or the fact that the person went out, said the phrase, had an adventure only to discover they dreamed the whole thing during a heat stroke lol!

Jemi Fraser said...

Love those quotes!

For a while there my son had a pretty good rapport with a wide variety of doctors and chiropractors (athlete who plays way over 100% and doesn't mind pain...) so I feel your pain.

I did lose a pair of glasses water skiing one day too. It's so easy to forget you're wearing them!

Dru said...

I love that your son's friends ratted him out...

LD Masterson said...

Carol - Do you think dinosaur stories will work? :-)

LD Masterson said...

Angela - Now we're cooking.

(groan)

LD Masterson said...

Jemi - Glad you liked the quotes.
And if your son was/is in sports, we've definitely been through some of the same nonsense.

My grandson was working on his small boat sailing merit badge. Wind caught the mast, knocked him overboard and the glasses went flying. He said he saw them hit the water and he made a grab, then they were gone. Oh well.

LD Masterson said...

Dru - Well, of course. What are friends for?

Tara Tyler said...

love the story and the possibilities!
good luck with your rendition, i'm sure you'll leave them laughing =)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Maybe a piece about someone who works outside. I used to work in auto salvage (long story there!) and surrounded by metal cars reflecting the sun's heat was miserable.

Mike Keyton said...

Don't you just love Mark Twain!

Ref Long Hot Summer you'll have no problem. Just keep the thought simmering in your mind whilst you are doing the 'every day'. Let the subconscious do what it's paid to do.

Anonymous said...

I can relate to your grandson's loss of glasses. I lost many a pair in high school. My poor parents spent a fortune in glasses on me.

LD Masterson said...

Tara - We can only hope. Thanks.

LD Masterson said...

Diane - Hmmm, I'd like to hear that story.

LD Masterson said...

Mike - Absolutely.

Maybe I need to give mine a raise.

LD Masterson said...

Liz - Are you sure you're not one of my kids? :-)