Summer Reflections — Part II

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city

All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head.

- John Sebastian - Mark Sebastian - Steve Boone
(aka: The Lovin’ Spoonful)

Well, it’s certainly been hot, dirty and gritty these past couple of days. I’m reminded of any number of summers since past, although those tended not to get this hot until some time in July.

When I was in my late teens — after I got my license and my own vehicle — I’d often head out to one of the local "swimmin’ holes" when it got too hot. I preferred Island Lake for a quick dip or, if I was making a day of it, I’d drive out to Echo Bay and head up Hwy 638 to Tower Lake, or perhaps cut in to Diamond Lake.

Both had decent enough public beaches. Diamond wasn’t quite so popular, which meant I could expect to have the place pretty much to myself. This was good, because I had put on a few (or 20) extra pounds since high school. This gave me the appearance of the ‘great white whale,’ so the fewer people that were there to watch the less self-conscious I would feel.

(Now, although I still have a, um, few extra pounds, I don’t really give a rat’s arse what people think.)

Of course, looking back on this, driving to a secluded beach and going swimming alone probably wasn’t one of my better ideas. I’m not a strong swimmer. I tend more to just float around neck-deep and enjoy the refreshing coolness. That I survived doesn’t mean it was a smart thing to do, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.

I didn’t always go alone. There were any number of occasions when several of us would head out to one of the beaches for the day, or even just a quick evening dip.

In fact, one evening trip myself and four of my cousins piled into a car and head to Island Lake. We had a great time, until one of my cousins — we’ll call her "Mary" — lost her running shoe down the outhouse. Since there were no actual change rooms, we changed in the outhouses. There was a sudden shriek and Mary came out of the Women’s holding one shoe, and saying that her other shoe had fallen down the hole.

Okay, the other four of us still had a great time, and we laughed all the way back to town. Mary, who was 16 or 17, was rather worried about telling her mother why she only had one shoe. The rest of us were sure she’d understand.

(I must remember to ask her mother about that, some day.)

As I got older, I began taking mini-vacations to visit friends in Southern Ontario. I saw a lot of great country, and visited some neat little towns and cities.

I really enjoy taking the road less travelled, so to speak. I have found that, when time isn’t at a premium, there are some really interesting sights to see by taking the lesser highways and back roads.

Even after I moved to Mississauga, and later to Dundas, I’d spend days off exploring the many back ways. Canadian Tire issued free travel road atlases one year, and I would highlight the routes I had driven. By the end of that summer most of the map of South-Western Ontario was blotches of fluorescent yellow and green ink.

Of course, with gas prices as high as they are, even if I had a vehicle now I would not be doing quite so much exploring. Still, if you’re travelling and aren’t in a real rush, I recommend getting off the freeway and exploring some of the back roads.

Unlike here in Algoma, Southern Ontario is criss-crossed with innumerable alternate routes, and there are many interesting places to see.

Check out the Official Ontario Road Map online here.

I'd also travel back here to visit my folks every few months. While the quick route was taking the 4-lane to Sarnia and then the I-69 and I-75 to the Sault, I found myself turning off the Interstate and exploring Michigan's "Thumb," where there are some interesting and scenic places to visit.

As I mentioned in Part I, I’ve not had many jobs of the "Monday to Friday, weekends-off" variety. The benefit to these were days-off during the week. Canada’s Wonderland on a Tuesday is still a pretty busy place, but nothing like it is on a weekend.

And one can enjoy a truly tranquil and relaxing round of golf mid-week, without the aggravation of waiting for the group ahead of you to chip-out of the bunker while the group behind you lands their tee shot at your heels.

Back in '91 or '92, I was looking through an issue of Cottage Life magazine that someone had brought in to work. In it I found a pattern and instructions for weaving a hammock from nylon rope. I have wanted to try this ever since.

Unfortunately, having moved twice since, with some of my belongings — books, mostly — still in boxes fourteen years later, I have not been able to locate these instructions. Fortunately, after mentioning my interest to a neighbour who also happens to attend the church where I have been working, I was able to obtain not only a pattern but the materials necessary to weave a hammock.

So, that will be my project for the summer. Well, that and cleaning out the basement, and the spare room, and the shed, and maybe doing some yard work, and getting ready to head to Thunder Bay in September to attend Teacher’s College.

I think I’ll work on the hammock first -- it looks like I’ll be needing it when I take breaks from all the other chores I have this summer. Then I’ll be able to sway gently in the breeze, and think back on all those lazy, hazy days of summer when I was a kid.

In the summer, in the city.
In the summer, in the city.

So… what are some of your Summer Reflections?