Summertime and the living is easy !!!

[Gingersnap]

In the name of the Sun God Apollo this is a thread dedicated to the things that summer brought.

The first thing I remember summer bringing was breasts. I was not a happy cookie since racing around without a shirt was now outlawed. Such was the summer of discontent for of course with the pointy things came another shocker while playing tennis. I thought the whole thing was a big cosmic dump on me. It was further complicated by the fact that I told my mother "this is nothing but a fucking joke". The queen was not amused by my new vocabulary.
It was this summer that I learned that it was not a joke, and yes my parents did have sex( shuddering).
I watched the fireworks on the Detroit River and got drunk on lemons and tequila. I learned to kiss and was much sought after for my outstanding performances...... Everyone has that kind of summer that changes you forever and I thought I would share a little part of me with you....
And this summer has been special too. I got a raise and made some wonderful friends. Wookie you know that I love you dude... And then there is this small demon that insists we twink each others noses and eat ice cream while torturing each other with pretzels.... Anyhow I thought it would be nice....

 

[Beebeeblue]

Sigh.......

Yes, Gingersnap. I love the summer memories too.

I was 16 the first year I sorta fell in love. And I met him in the summer. God it was great. We were inseperable for all of 2 short weeks, but our friendship still lasts (Sheesh...its been 12 yrs now). Everytime I hear a song by Richard Marx(don't throw the tomatoes now) I think of him. Softball games, kids running wild thru the park, and 4th of July fireworks. And him holding me, telling me how pretty I was over and over again. Sigh........

 

[Merelan]

Summertime...
to me:
dandelion wine
walks in the moonlight
swimming under the stars
warm stawberries fresh from the garden....

 

[Dreamer1]

Everyone has that kind of summer that changes you forever and I thought I would share a little part of me with you....
And this summer has been special too. I got a raise and made some wonderful friends. Wookie you know that I love you dude...

Ms. Snappy, I have been fortunate enough to call you my friend now for three seasons. Skinny, you know that I love you too.

Summertime is...
*Warm sunny days to bask in
*Playing outside with my girls
*Grilling NY strips to eat with tomatos from the garden
and to complete the meal, a bottle of fine merlot
*Riding my motorcycle and feeling free

 

[CreamyLady]

Ah, summer . . .

Peaches! Lots of peaches, peaches and raspberries, peaches and cream, peach ice cream -- er, I have a thing for peaches.

Barbecues; cold beer; burgers "your way" and falling to bits as you eat them.

Fireworks.

Minimal clothing.

The look on the faces of our neighbors when we fill the inflatable kiddie pool and sit in it -- not to mention the look on the face of The Cat.

The scent from my herb garden.

Sitting on the beach until 2:00 a.m., watching the moon on the water and falling in love all over again.

 

[Bodizefi]

The Summer of 1980........Sneaking out my upstairs window to jump down in the soft thick grass, friends car waiting, bottle of tequila, two shy girls, star lit night, skinny dipping in the lake, the smell of chlorine and tanning lotion at the pool, girls in bikinis, falling in love for the first time.......I was 15.

 

[Deborah]

Wicked summer thunderstorms and yeow was there one at my house last night.

OK, I know this question is probably too easy, but where did the expression "Summertime and the living is easy" originate?

 

[Oliver Clozoff]

OK, I know this question is probably too easy, but where did the expression "Summertime and the living is easy" originate?

It's the first line from the song Summertime from the musical Porgy and Bess:

Summertime, and the livin' is easy
Catfish are jumpin' and the cotton is high
Your daddy's rich and your mama's good-lookin'
Hush, little baby, honey don't cry

One of these mornings, you're gonna rise up singin'
Spread out your wings and take to the sky
Until that day, nobody's gonna harm you
Your daddy and your mama, standing by

<My dad used to sing it to me when I was a little boy. Those were great days...>

 

[Endlessly]

Summertime.. Most of the sort of memories you guys describe happened in springtime or fall for me, but I do remember past summers.. Wandering around the city at 3 AM with my friends, ending up on this big hill overlooking the city.. and rolling down it five or ten times.

Fireworks-- I remember when I was younger going down to the fireworks stand every day to buy something, no matter how small, and talking with the guy who ran the stand for hours.

Summer thunderstorms in Big Sky Country, when it seems the night sky is giving birth or something for all of the energy and pain and howling wind and crashing thunder.. Lightning ripping across the sky and making everything bright as day for just a few moments. Sometimes it's enough to make me get out my sleeping bag and sleep on my balcony.. Or put on my swimsuit and go out and dance. (The joys of being neighbor-free, eh.)

The end of last summer was the beginning of my sexual awakening though.. It was when the first chapter of 'Good things' took place, it was when I stopped going to bed at 8:30 at night to accomodate the night owl that enchanted me.. It was so much better than anything I had with him after that point in time, because it seemed pure and innocent, unfiltered and unrefined.

'Cause it was summertime.

*Does anyone else hear Janis singing in the background?*

 

[RonG]

You Gershwin Boys ought to go into music!

"Summertime" has got to be among the best songs to perform and keep original. I personally love the Sam Cooke version but he could read the phone book and have it sound great. Even The Zombies do a passable version.

My best summer days are good food, good friends and a soft breeze coming over the wildflowers while listening to Garrison Keillor and A Prairie Home Companion.

Look who's coming through the door/Haven't we met somewhere before/Hello, Love!

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

I've always loved Gershwin's "Summertime". Thanks for posting the lyrics.

The summer that changed me was my 14th. Camping with my friends every night in the local woods, and learning to come out of my shell. (Oh yes, I had a shell). I kissed a girl for the first time, drank beer for the first time, and allowed myself to be "bad" for the first time (nightly prowls around the neighborhood to do stupid mischief like breaking car antennas and banging on garbage cans and dodging from all the imaginary police we were sure we trying hunt down us big time criminals). That was the summer I became "me".

 

[Wild Child]

summer......it always makes you feel great to think about that one summer when it seemed that everyting changed....
For me it would have to be the summer when I was 15, it was the first time that my friends got me to sneak out of the house late at night and introduced me to the person i'm now, that being one who's a wee bit to insane for her own good....oh well. Lounging around on the beach, doing nothing much.....makes me want to go back.....

 

[Guest]

Summer when I was fifteen kind of lasted till winter. I had six months or so where I changed in a lot of ways. I don't remember when exactly each of the incidents happened but there's a kind of summery glow over all my memories.

That was the year I left my room; discovered the Sex Pistols; came out of my shell; rebelled against my parents; stopped caring about school; drank alcohol and had my first fumbles with a plain looking girl called Jo. It was a very exciting time.

16 years later I'm having another exciting summer and I'm dreaming of future fumbles with a desirable girl called the Littlest Rebel (aka Telephone Thing).