(This is pretty local in focus, but I do a community piece every 4th of July)
I’ve been thinking about Summer. Actually I’ve been thinking about the seasons, activities, the July 4th holiday, community celebrations, the Creston Boosters, bake sales, picnics, drives, and most of all — sunshine. Summer of 2009 didn’t exist for me. I remember so many events and fun things from my first 58 Summers, but my entire 59th was pretty much a foggy blur. I slept a lot of the time, I dozed off to the TV in my room, and I had visitors that I simply do not remember. I had windows, but the shades were drawn, or partially closed, to protect my eyes from any enhanced sensitivity to the sunlight due to all the antibiotics. Yeecho, phooey… This go around I am going to make up for what I lost in 2009.
You see while there is something special about each of the four seasons, Summer is the one I associate with fun! I am not saying that Summer is without work and there are not many, many, many extra jobs which are taken care of during this quarter of the year. There is mowing, weeding, watering, painting, and getting the house ready for another coming cold spell just to name a few. When even the sweaty tasks are taken from you (if only for a year), you realize that you actually miss them.
Right now I have one speed — SLOW. But… the way I see things, slow is so much better than off! And…I look forward to literally everything. I am actually searching out for activities/ events to attend. Usually these find me, but this year I am actually pursuing them aggressively. To quote the fictional Mame Dennis (aka Auntie Mame): “Life is a banquet and most poor ‘male puppies’ (eh hem…) are starving to death.”
Summer doesn’t begin on its chronological calendar start date for me. I begin my mowing while we are barely out of winter. For me… Summer begins with Rochelle’s 4th of July parade, concert in the park, and fireworks. Wasn’t this year’s celebration simply fantastic!!! (Thank you, Rochelle!!!)
It is not just my village on the hill that gets my juices flowing. Virtually every community has a Summer celebration. Each one has a special character, food item(s), and event(s), and did I say food items? I love the parades and look forward to walking in some of them with State Representative Bob Pritchard’s group.
If I “run out of gas,” I will hitch a ride with the Republican elephant, Hilda, or whatever her name is. Some community celebrations have already occurred, but the majority transpires in July, in August, and in September. In the Summer, I religiously read the Rochelle News Leader’s calendar of events in every issue. While I can’t attend all, I will get to most if I make the effort.
Creston has several events coming up. The Booster Club will celebrate the favorite American, sandwich, the Headon’s Gourmet Burger on July 30th, Sweden’s meatballs – ham loaf – and Korv (sausage) on August 27th, and Turkey’s Eye of Round on September 24th. Don’t forget Creston Booster Days also in September. Then too… there are the monthly steak fries staged by Headon’s and Rouge on Main Street in my little hamlet on the hill. There are also many art fairs, the Heritage Fest in Rochelle, craft shows, picnics, fund raisers, and sundry entertainment(s) weekly in the area to attend. I may not always spend much money, but I always can eat.
Another great Summer rite is the Sunday drive. I love to ride in a car, If not to get somewhere, then simply for the ride. Had the Almighty God didn’t intend for man to ride, would He have given us motor cars? (This is my logic at work here, so cut me some slack, OK?) A favorite “trip” of mine is the drive along the Rock River from Dixon (with the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan), Grande Detour (with the John Deere Museum), Oregon (with the Lorado Taft statute of Chief Blackhawk and Three State Parks), Byron (with the nuclear plant in the distance), and Rockford (with Sinnissippi Park, the Burpee Museum, the Tinker Cottage, the Coronado Theatre, and Midway Village). There is so much to experience at little (or no) cost within an hour or less drive. I really love this area!
Ogle County is blessed with several great State Parks. White Pines, Castle Rock, and Lowden are three of my favorites. I associate these parks with the church, school, and family picnics of my youth. I hope there will be many more memories and barbeques and hikes and Frisbees and baseball games to come. I figure that I am now beginning my third childhood — with several more to come. First experiences are also a rite of Summer, if you are with “a newbie” be they a child, a visiting friend, or new family member you re-live your experiences with them. It becomes another “first time” for you.
Last, but not least, is that bright yellow ball of warmth and energy in the sky. The advent and ending of each day is a celebration of color and wonderment. The sun gives us life. It renews us each day. I really love this area!!! I’m Fred Cederholm and I’ve been thinking. You should be thinking, too.
Copyright 2010 Questions, Inc. All rights reserved.
