Summer Soundtrack

I'm loving summer. When I was a kid, it was definitely my favorite season. Nowadays I recognize unique and wonderful qualities in the other three seasons, but still summer seems to be stronger than the others when it comes to marking time and making memories. For me part of the memories come from music. Every season comes with its own tunes. Have you ever constructed your own summer soundtrack? What would be on your list?

Since 1985 my summers have begun with the sound of a most familiar tune, "Pomp and Circumstance." Sir Edward Elgar's tune is the traditional choice for commencement ceremonies (it is the finale of a work composed to mark the 1902 coronation of British King Edward VII), and while it is somber, there is no question that it is celebrational.

Even though graduation was Thursday, June 11, and summer didn't officially start for another week, we invited, welcomed, and ushered in summer that evening as all the tasseled mortar boards were tossed skyward.

The next morning the sun came early and so did the melody of the birds singing in the parkland just beyond our property. Our minds strummed the lines of "Summer Time" and I kept thinking "and September is no where in sight!"

My summer soundtrack also includes the delightful rhythm of waves breaking and the fizzle of foam melting into the sand; I've heard the hard slapping of little waves on the rocks at Catalina's shore and then the gurgling sucking clacking sounds of the saltwater draining back to the ocean through the jagged foot-piercing rocks. Summer is the chirping of crickets; the thunder of a rollercoaster, the roar of a jet engine; the splash of boys cannon-balling into the pool; the boom of fireworks in the sky; the cautionary directions of a flight attendant with a floatation device around her neck; the blast of steam whistling through the calliope on a paddle wheeler; the chatter of children riding their bikes through the neighborhood; the lullaby of the wind on a lazy afternoon; the chk chk chk chk of spraying sprinklers in the early evening, and croaking frogs nightly in the stream behind our house.

The songs of summer are more than I can name, but I have to mention a few: I was a little girl visiting my grandmother at the beach when I first heard "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini." One 4th of July years ago the words of "Duke of Earl" drifted across the sand at Long Beach from someone else's transistor radio while my parents and I waited for the fireworks show. "Theme from a Summer Place" is on my list, and "I've Got You Babe," "Summer in the City," "If You're Going to San Francisco," and "The Beat Goes On," and hey, so does my list. How about yours? What's your summer soundtrack?

I know some of my blip friends are in the Southern Hemisphere and you are enjoying winter. I hope wherever you are that you are doing well.

Good night from Southern California,
Rosie, (& Mr. Fun), aka Carol

P.S. When I put my camera in front of the iPod, I was surprised by the reflection of my camera staring at me, so I lowered the camera to create the self-portrait.