Summer in the suburbs reminds me of middle school. Barbeques, green grass, the dog that runs back in forth on the line, cooling off with the hose, getting the car washed, riding your bike around the block without worry, softball, the pool, crushes that you hope you run into now that school is out, sidewalk chalk and childhood best friends, playing catch with dad, the neighborhood kickball games, the Sunday parties at grandma’s house, finding golf balls, going to the games, dancing in the kitchen with mom, adventures with Angela, climbing trees, oreo milkshakes, and real family vacations.
I am sitting on the Atchue family deck under the shade of the large awning, and to my left there is a large grill with a nice piece of sausage crackling over the coals, and to my right Chunky the chocolate lab makes a bed near his dog house. When I look out towards the lawn, I see little critters jumping back and forth near where the green grass becomes a series of stones, and eventually a small forest. I forgot how chipmunks jump, I’m glad the rats don’t do that in the city.
I should imagine that when Matt was a kid, like me, he’d go on adventures through the woods, imagining that he would find some unknown path. I wouldn’t mind getting lost in the woods, there was always so much excitement about getting lost back then, but now, to be lost is to be without direction, it seems to be not as fun. Why is that? Sometimes it’s not necessary to know what the next move is, you can’t predict how things will go.
The smell of barbeque permeates throughout the neighborhood. That’s one thing I miss in the city, the smell of that barbeque going.
Quote:
“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien