WintersExpress.com
|
|||||
Copyright (c) 2005
|
My sister, Lois, and her family spend a couple of weeks
each July in Aptos, on the beach, and invited me down. My grandchildren
were going to be there, so I made the trip through the smoke, heat and
mountains last Thursday afternoon. The area around San Jose, where Highway
680 leans to the east, was as hot as I’ve seen lately. By the time
I was heading down Highway 17 to Santa Cruz, the smoke was gone and you
realize right away that something is different. You can see for miles,
and the wind hitting your face is refreshing. I had a little traffic on Highway 1, but the weather made
the wait a non-issue. Just sitting in traffic was comfortable and the
air was clean, even behind a passing truck. As I get older, I’m starting to appreciate summer
vacations, or at least long weekends. I’m not sure I appreciated
summers as a kid, but I do remember looking forward to having the time
off to play in the creek, or later to work and enjoy at least a couple
of weeks off between apricots and peaches. My brother-in-law Gordon invited my son-in-law Rance and
I to walk to a local pub. It must have been two miles to a British pub
where a country band was playing. After a couple of Guinesses it was time
to walk home. As we were walking on narrow streets, with no sidewalks,
wearing dark clothing and cars speeding by, Gordon made the observation
that our wives thought it was safer for us to walk rather than drive.
We made it back to the beach house anyway. The next day Lois had invited my favorite daughter Laura,
to a fancy lunch. Not a place for children; the men were going to stay
home and watch the children. Gordon invited himself to the luncheon, and
I was right behind him inviting myself along, leaving Rance to watch the
cousins at the beach. I’m not sure if the idea of watching his two
babies, Lois and Gordon’s two junior high schoolers and their high
school seniors and a girl friend scared him, but he tried in vain to get
invited, too. Rance loaded up the kids in a double stroller and went off
to find a place to feed the kids. This wasn’t fast food service
and we were having a nice visit, enjoying house specials and a glass of
wine. I was talking about how great the seafood pasta was when Gordon
started laughing. He was looking out the window just as Rance went wheeling
by. I didn’t think it was that funny, but Gordon said he had been
watching someone who looked like a homeless man walking around looking
for something to do. He thought Rance was with him until he saw the stroller.
It almost made us feel guilty, but Laura enjoyed the adult conversation
and a leisurely lunch before getting back in the car for the ride back
to Modesto. Rance didn’t seem the worst for wear when we walked
back to the vehicles. I was thinking that it wasn’t our fault he
married into this family. I said my goodbyes, plugged in my iPod, turned
up the volume, left my jacket off, and drove the Harley back into the
smoke filled Sacramento Valley. The weather was cooler but the smoke was
just as bad as when I left. I read that the Big Sur fire was being helped by the cool
weather and the Butte fire was 75 percent contained. The fire in the Sierras
was allowed to burn and the fire report said it wouldn’t be out
until the first of October. They must be expecting rain or something,
but that will be a lot of smoke for the rest of the summer. DOES ANYONE SUBSCRIBE to The New Yorker? With their marketing department hitting a home run with a cartoon of the Obamas on the cover and every talk show host in America talking about their magazine, it is almost impossible to find a copy of the July New Yorker. We keep almost everything and anything at the Express, and this issue may be a defining moment in this election. Either way, it would be nice to have a copy on permanent loan. Give me a call.
|
|
|||
