Look Out, Here Comes Summer

Iced tea has been a favorite since the days when women wore dresses and men did the grilling.

For folks like me, summer is a burden. Recently a friend confided that he "hates the sun," asking if I understood. I did, all too well. A sunny day precludes such options as feeling down, being depressed, or even mildly upset. If it's  a beautiful day, you damn well better enjoy it or there's something wrong with you. Underscoring this message are all those TV commercials for iced tea where everyone is young and beautiful and having a blast, grilling burgers and playing Frisbee with golden retrievers and lounging on hammocks without a care in the world. Nobody is fat or sick or disabled, at least not in summer. Instead they are the epitome of health, luxuriously tanned and oblivious to world events. Forget about the recent bombing in Turkey, but slather on more sunscreen since summer's worst worry is a sunburn.

Even though the season snuck in with little fanfare about ten days ago, the real kick-off to good times is this very weekend, commonly called the Fourth of July despite the calendar date. Now you're talking! Family picnics, fireworks, barbecues, sailboat races and all that other summertime fun reaches a fever pitch in celebration of America's birthday (or founding or something like that), fueled by beer, wine and whiskey.

 Hadlock Field, home to the Minor Leagues.

Always eager to catch the spirit, join the crowd and be all he can be, my husband is taking me to a baseball game this evening. He scored some great seats and it promises to be a fun outing, although I doubt the contest between the Portland Sea Dogs and the Hartford Yard Goats will be one for the record books. Then again, Hadlock Field is far less likely to suffer a terrorist attack than Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium, so good for us. And in case you wondered, Hadlock Field was named in honor of Edson Hadlock Jr., baseball coach at Portland High School from 1950-1978.