Miscellaneous Monday - Summertime Memories

[Andy Gladstone]

Today is Labor Day in the United States and Labour Day in Canada. IN North America these days are always heralded as the end of the summer. Even if global warming has temperatures in the 90's still in September, school year and summer will never mix. So today I am a bit nostalgic for the care-free summers of my youth...

I don't know about you, but the one image and sound that will always conjure up Summertime memories for me is hearing the Mister Softee jingle and seeing his truck coming down the street.

No child runs as fast as the child trying to run through the front yard, up the steps to the house, two flights of stairs to ask his mother to find her purse and give him a dollar (not adjusted for inflation) for an ice cream. And then the run back to catch the Ice Cream Man before he disappears on the horizon. Just that run was enough to burn the calories that I was about to ingest on my Vanilla Soft Ice Cream Cone with Rainbow Sprinkles.

As I got older (notice I didn't use the word matured) Eddie Murphy's words would ring in my ears whenever I heard the dulcet tones of Mister Softee.

So, I've shared the triggers for my summertime memories. What is your trigger? What image, taste, sound or feeling will always bring you back to summertime memories?

Have a great Monday and awesome week ahead!

[John Funk]

Though the season extends beyond just summer, that time of year means baseball to me. Since it was also before cable and widespread games on TV, Saturday afternoons always meant the MLB game of the week. And I was always glued in front of the TV for whoever was playing. Especially if it was my beloved Dodgers.

August always meant football (American style) practice for several years. Sometimes when I smell fresh cut grass around mid-August memories come flooding back.

Labor Day meant back to school as we didn’t start until after then back in the day. 

Thanks @Andy Gladstone for the trip down memory lane 🙂

[Andy Gladstone]

@John Funk thanks for sharing so many triggers. The smell of fresh cut grass is always one that reminds me of the summer too!

[John Funk]

And that’s not even my favorite time of the year. Wait until we get to Fall hahaha 

[Nikki Zavadska _Appfire_]

One of the best times over the summer I can remember was when we were doing a barbeque with my dad, sister, and family.

We were always doing a marinated chicken and it was sooooo delicious and there was so much of it! I can't believe how much chicken and small sausages I was able to eat as a 10-year-old 😂

We were also drinking Kofola - traditional Czech coke. So typical for summer but also arguably for Christmas 😊 If you come across Kofola somewhere you must try it, it's delicious!

[Andy Gladstone]

@Nikki Zavadska _Appfire_ is it the smell of these foods (BBQ) or taste that is most powerful in invoking the memories? And now that I have read up on Kofola I wonder where it has been my whole life!

[Darline Auguste]

For me, it's ice pops! I liked the version below - we never stood still long enough to cut the top off with a scissor and instead, would just twist the top off with our teeth. Whenever we saw these in the freezer, we knew we were about to be spending a lot more time outside :) 

[Andy Gladstone]

@Darline Auguste nothing changes! My freezer is stocked with these every summer and my kids either:

1. Cut off the tops with their teeth but never get that sticky piece of plastic into the trash bin.
2. Use a knife to cut off the top, right on the countertops in the kitchen, but never wipe away the sticky juices!

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Typically English - storms.  Lightning, thunder and huge amounts of rain.

A storm always reminds me of my summer holidays around the UK when I was a kid - they had a knack of turning up at just the wrong time, or being spectacular and hence memorable.

[Andy Gladstone]

@Nic Brough -Adaptavist- is it the smell of the rain, the sound of the thunder, the sight of the lightning or all of them combined? If only one sense was available, which would trigger the memory strongest?

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

I think it's the smell of the lightning

The main one was a holiday in an archipelago, I always associate the holidays we had there with summer.

One year, we had been having a glorious summer, I'd read the Lord of the Rings while alternating between a quiet beach and propping up a 16th century fortification in the sun.  But on one day, we went to one of the other islands.

By the time we got there, it had changed from a day with a few clouds to a bit of a storm, and as we landed, we were watching lightning bolts dance across the peaks on the three islands nearest.  We were absolutely drenched as we walked the length of the island (to get to the village pub, which is where I bought my first ever pint).

We saw plenty more spectacular storms there, but I'll never forget that smell of freshly created ozone with a hint of smoke from the trees and fence posts that were hit.  It always makes me think "summer", even when it's just electrical sparking.

[Dave Liao]

Video games. Lots and lots of video games.

I clocked so many hours of gaming over the past summers of my life.

Though probably not as many video games as @Jimmy Seddon 🎉

[Andy Gladstone]

@Dave Liao as a child, I probably wanted to spend my summers the same way. As a parent I am always yelling at my kids to shut off the *&%$ PS4 and get outside to enjoy the sunshine! 

My memories are more abound thumb blisters from the original NES controllers though.

[Dave Liao]

@Andy Gladstone - oh yes, same here. I wish we grew up with ergonomic gamepads, but alas...

Fun fact: I even fondly remember the Magnavox Odyssey joysticks. Those really caused thumb blisters!

[Jimmy Seddon]

@Dave Liao SO MANY video games!

[Ram Kumar Aravindakshan _Adaptavist_]

@Dave Liao  - What's the latest game that you have played with?

[Dave Liao]

@Ram Kumar Aravindakshan _Adaptavist_ Bubble Bobble on the Nintendo Switch 🤣

[Ram Kumar Aravindakshan _Adaptavist_]

:) I still haven't finished Sekiro Shadows Die Twice

[Steven Mustari]

Can't put down Fortnite... no matter how old I get.

[Srinatha T]

Video games . Mario used to be so famous in india.

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

I never thought about it, so thank you for kindling my memories, Andy! 

Long forest walks and books are what bring me back to my most loved summer days. As a kid, I spent the whole summer in our village house, and it was a life full of long walks, baths in the cold river, and many books. 

I was never very social, and reading in the fresh air was my perfect getaway from the real world. Something so simple and yet challenging to achieve these days.

[Andy Gladstone]

@Teodora V _Fun Inc_ thanks for sharing. What book or series in particular can bring your thoughts back to the summer? For me it would be Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. I read it in the summer between 11th and 12th grade and can remember bringing it with me to the beach, reading while in a hammock in my backyard and it always being n my backpack when going hiking. 

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

It may sound far from a child's reads, but I went from all the Bulgarian literature I had been assigned from school to Grimm's Fairy Tales, Azimov's science fiction, and Stephen King's novels. 
I was always fascinated by the skill of writing, and I had a list of books I was rereading each summer. 

[Alex Koxaras _Relational_]

Summer in Greece means sun. And lots of it!

Usually when summer is approaching day gets longer which meant back in the day, that I could stay out a lot more! And this of course meant plenty of hours playing football against rival neighborhoods, "hide and chase" with friends on busy town Squares. And for sure as a kid the World Cup (football in Europe) meant that summer is here, mostly due to the fact that my family was dining out eating souvlaki (meat on stick) and Greek salad watching the games (for me that meant playing with my friend while my dad was watching the game)!

[Sean Manwarring _Izymes_]

Growing up, we didn't have a pool at home, so we would always run a few hundred meters up the street to our grandparent's house to spend the day in the pool. Without fail, every time we were to visit, our grandmother would have a freshly made lemon meringue pie.

So we would sit there half in the pool, half out. Devouring what felt like half our own body weight in pie. 

Still to this day, if I even smell Lemon meringue pie, I get flashbacks to those glorious summer days. 

When times were simpler.

[Andy Gladstone]

Lemon scent - in any form - pie, lemonade, iced tea, etc. - is certainly a strong summer scent and memory inducer!  

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

"Lemon" is a trigger word in my house - I live with someone who absolutely despises it.  I've even had a letter published in "New Scientist" about her hatred of it.

[Jack Brickey]

Good topic @Andy Gladstone ! Yes indeed the sounds of the ice cream truck bring back amazing memories for me as a child. I would recall playing in the sprinkler out in the backyard and hearing that sound. I would run inside to mom and she would already have her wallet out to hand me a few quarters.

For me fresh cut grass and the sound of waves at the beach always makes me think of summer.

[Andy Gladstone]

Waves at the beach - that's a great one. I am spoiled in that I live 1/2 mile from the Atlantic Ocean now, and I think I have lost the recognition of the sound of the waves due to over-familiarity. I'll need to go sit on the beach or boardwalk and shut out all other senses and listen for the waves once again. Thanks for the memory @Jack Brickey. 

[Nic Brough -Adaptavist-]

Yes, those two very much scream "summer" at me too.

Waves mainly because of the island holidays, probably because I've always lived a long way from the coast, and beach holidays were an important part of summer.

Cut grass also makes me think of "hay fever".  Although it's not a good experience, it's definitely a summer-y thing!  

[Brant Schroeder]

@Andy Gladstone I would have to go with cool rivers on hot summer days.  For as long as I can remember we would head to the river to escape the heat.  We have a lot of rivers around us that are fed from snow pack and mountain runoff so they stay relatively cool year-round making them a great place to visit when it is hot out.

[Kristján Geir Mathiesen]

Ah, summer to me is longer days (bright nights), not as much wind, green lush grass, being outside as much as possible. I love summer days!

[Summer Hogan]

What a great topic @Andy Gladstone! You are bringing back so many memories for me. 

The first is trips from whatever Air Force Base we lived on to go home to Phoenix for a month! We would visit family in northern Arizona in Flagstaff and then go down to Phoenix for a couple of weeks. This time visiting home always included a camping trip at Lake Powell! We would take the boat with all of our stuff in it and find a nice cove across the lake and camp in complete solidarity. It was such a good time and the stars at night were amazing! 

Another memory I have is playing outside with my brothers, sisters and friends and running through those old sprinklers you would put out on your lawn to water your grass. We also built our own slip and slide one year with plastic painters drop cloths. That was fun! 

Lastly, I also remember the ice cream truck! When you mentioned that @Andy Gladstone it brought back such fond memories! 

[Andy Gladstone]

Glad to help jog those memories! I love the homemade slip and slide initiative. And yes, I remember these!

[Summer Hogan]

Yep, those are the ones! 

[Jimmy Seddon]

Great topic @Andy Gladstone!

Since @Dave Liao already called me out, I figure I should explain.  Summer for me was a lot of travelling in the car.  My parents took my sister and I on many destination camping trips as well as some other destinations (we did a two week drive to Disney World in Florida from Ontario Canada making many stops along the way).

So how did I survive all of those trips?  My trusty Gameboy!

I played and completed many games over the years.  While, I was actively involved in any sight-seeing we were doing, because we saw some very cool things, the car rides were video game time.

[Andy Gladstone]

@Jimmy Seddon my Gameboy brings back memories of all 4 seasons - and for the same reason as you. We spent a lot of time in the car on the way to visiting our grandparents and had one Gameboy for three boys, so it was rotated between us (with my books keeping me company in between turns  - my superpower used to be the ability to read in a moving car). What games can you recall as favorites? For me, Tetris, Dr. Mario and Castlevania II do it for me.

[Jimmy Seddon]

The first game I owned was the very first Mighty Morphin Power Rangers game.  But I also enjoyed playing through Metroid 2, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and Pokemon: Red

[Fabio Racobaldo _Herzum_]

The sound of the ice cream truck, the sound of the wind at sea and the voice of my mother ... these are the memories of my summers in my youth.

I miss those times.

[Connor]

Waking up to early morning sun shining through the window onto my face.

[Andy Gladstone]

Yes this! As I got older I appreciated this much more than when I was in my teenage years. The natural light waking you up bright and early. Bonus for when the windows could be left open and some cool summer air hit you too.

[Valerie Knapp]

For me, it has to be the smell of freshly cut grass! Makes me excited for the new growth and more time outside.

[Dave Mathijs]

Second that, +1 !

[Sakina]

summer for us is like hide your self in day time.....ha ha 45'c- 50 'c :)

[vikram]

Hi All

great to hear all summer block blusters,

Here summer for us is lots of Mangoes, verities of Mangoes, daily drink Mango shakes and eat verities of Mangoes.  Lots of Ice Creams, and Sugar Cane juice is special in Summer to us. 

 

[Craig Nodwell]

Hospital, I've spent the month of Sept in the hospital.  The surgery was a success.

[Andy Gladstone]

@Craig Nodwell we're so happy you are recovering! Hopefully it won't be a lasting memory and just a fleeting one.

[Craig Nodwell]

Thank you.

[Craig Nodwell]

Camp fires.  
I seen the ice cream truck comments above.
Funny thing around this neighborhood the ice cream truck screams by at 50km/hr ... it's like the ghetto ice cream truck.  He does come around a few times but never slows down.  I do believe he is just pure evil.

[Andy Gladstone]

Camp fires. Yes! Nothing like coming inside after a camp fire and being able to smell it on your clothes, skin and bones. I bought special camp fire clothes a few years back. Just putting them on gets me excited for the event.

[Steven Mustari]

We have one of these too. (Ice cream truck) - We also have campfires and they can't come soon enough.

[Srinatha T]

Family picnics. We usually go to a hill station and spend a lot time there , I love to go for cycling in the mountains in early mornings. On river side having packed meal and going for boating .

[Srinatha T]

@Andy Gladstone  You always come up with such great topics . Its like time travelling back to those good old days! :)  Big Kudos to you!

[Benjamin]

Summertime for me is usually hanging out at the beach and the smell of BBQ. 

@Andy Gladstone  - That ice cream truck you posted brings so much memories. Use to catch it driving down my block when I was a kid every week. I haven't seen one in so many years. I think the only only time I've seen one is when it was catered at an event I music festival I attended.

[vikram]

Ice creams and Mangoes are summer memories in my state, 

With different varities of Fresh Fruit Drinks. 

[vikram]

I remember Mangoes are summer favorities fruits