What Are Your Childhood Summertime Soundtracks?

A friend recently posited a question about our summertime memories from our youth, specifically the soundtrack we remember in our minds eye. My first thought was Johnny Mathis' slow tune "Chances Are" and dancing a slow dance with Kathleen Sullivan at the CYC dances.

The nuns, with wooden pointers, would be patrolling the dance floor looking to insure that there was light between the bodies of the dancers. Never one to be deterred by nuns and their classroom weapons, I took whatever opportunity I could get to grind. Those summers were innocent. Thank you Johnny, even today you are on my Pandora channel list.

The second quest my friend raised was, "...what is your sound track for this summer?" Now this one wasn't as easy to answer. I pondered it for several days. I easily went past songs that entertain me, like most Americans I like to be entertained, often too much. But this summer is much different, the middle class is disappearing, people are going hungry, in some European, as well as North American countries, people who can no longer feed their children are dropping them off at social service and religious facilities. No, this summer is different, way different, way less innocent.

And then it dawned on me, this summer's theme song, for me, is "The Ghost of Tom Joad", by Rage Against The Machine. This song covers this summer perfectly. Rock on, Comrades, up the Revolution, are you ready to die to protect your freedoms?

The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time

Having another birthday always makes me reflect on my past adventures. As I was pondering my past and gazing out the window of my home office I spied a large bobcat crossing the creek on a fallen sycamore tree. I watched as he effortlessly leaped the final six or so feet onto the far bank.

I was immediately transported back to Mississippi, circa 1967. I was making one of my regular beer runs, you see Oxford, home of the university was in a dry county, and the entrepreneur in me couldn't pass up the chance to fill the demand. Having had several cans of my cargo it became clear to me that I needed to make a pit stop.

I hadn't seen another driver on this back road route so I pulled off into a small unmarked field road and proceeded to prepare myself to bleed the lizard. Just as the flow started I looked down into the ditch and to my shock and dismay, I was faced with a female bobcat with several kittens having dinner.

I can still hear her hiss, and although she made no aggressive move, I somehow found myself standing on the hood of the car. I quickly zipped up and slowly backed out onto the road and resumed my illegal activity. Of all of the places I could have stopped that day, I picked the wrong place at the wrong time.