I took a very long walk in the sun tonight. As I rounded the corner and neared my house I came upon a scrawling in what was once wet cement. It said succinctly and enigmatically "summer '05". So many images can flood the mind, the reveries of my own summer of 2005, or simply the intrepid sense of importance this person felt when solidifying eternally in cement the summer of 6 years ago. I wonder if it was written at the beginning of summer. Perhaps it was early June and school had not let out yet. The warm air makes your pencil sticky in your palm as the seconds tick away until 3 o'clock. Maybe it was in the middle of the summer... long morning languishing in bed until late, staying out until well past sunset, shrieking giggles among the moist green grass. Perhaps that summer was so lovely at it's mid-July apex the scrivener wanted to commemorate it forever on the sidewalk, so everyone treading over would know summer '05 was wonderful, powerful, something to remember. Perhaps this person knew that as it was happening...
Or maybe... maybe it was written on the very last day. Perhaps it was labor day weekend and with heavy hearts the children were sluggishly making their way back to school. Maybe the warmth and flash of summer slipped away too soon and there was nothing but the wet cement left behind...
I remember my summer of 2005. It consisted of barbeques in the sultry night air in a back yard thick with insects and balmy dust, quenching the arid evening with sweet rum and strawberry juice, the backs of my knees sticky on the mattress, new dresses coming in the mail, riding my bike to work without make-up, 'Dear You' by Jawbreaker and fresh, cold salad at lunch.
Here's a pic I took tonight. I was feeling punk or something in a new dress...
But then I felt a little more sweet...
Goodbye summer 2005....hello summer 2011...
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