Summer Is Here

            Just the other day, I heard a cicada buzzing and knew that summer was here. As a child, I always hated hearing their loud buzzing rise to a crescendo and then fall. Soon, there would be an entire chorus of their humming, grating calls that surrounded me. It always seemed to put my nerves on end and to be truthful, I still don't like that sound.

            My dad's birthday would have been soon. It was the longest day of the year, June 21st. He would have celebrated his 92nd birthday. My sister Kathy's birthday will be coming soon, the last of this month. I almost always buy her some type of flamingo, because she loves them so. (NOT.) But because I am such a sweet and loving brother, I get something anyway.

            My son Andrew's birthday falls on the day after my sister's, July 1st.  I am so bad with birthdays and anniversaries that I have to remind myself to look at a calendar to even come close to knowing the dates.

            It has become even harder to remember to look at the calendar since I have been writing. Too often I get caught up in thought. I concentrate on putting together a plot or finagling the details and making sure that they mesh and that the story makes sense.

            Writers meetings also intrude as well as appointments. Today I have a dental visit for an extraction. It has been a frequent fix since 1988. The dentist has suggested a crown and when I said I was ready to try it, he said that the root system would be too small to support the crown. To be truthful, there was much of the original tooth left to save. So, today out it will come.

            Since it is summer, I may have ice cream for my meals today.