A Magical Summer Thing

When I was a kid I always found summers to be this crazy combination of boring and magical. There was a whole lot of nothing to do. As a kid, that was frustrating. There was only so much TV I could watch before I felt stifled by the sameness. Eventually I would take to the outdoors and have to create my own entertainment with friends or alone. When I think back on it, I am amazed by what my little self found to do: climbing crab apple trees, sitting on the big green box warming in the sun, or swinging on the willow tress until we stripped all the branches of their tiny, tender leaves. And so much more…

Recently I was contacted by a childhood friend on Facebook. She wrote me this note, “You lived on Craig Street in London, and had a cabinet with a sink in it in your bedroom. I thought that was the coolest thing. Well, that and the fact you were born in Hawaii. That was cool too. I had family who lived across the street in the apartments, and I would visit on weekends. You and I used to collect ‘treasures’ (junk) from the edges of the apartment parking lot.”

I read her note and was instantly transported back to those hours of searching for treasures with Brenda. It was exhilarating finding shiny objects, bits of electronics, or broken jewelry. Sometimes I would work them into art pieces gluing these found treasures on paper.