Suffering God, it’s Labour Day again and just like that summer is gone. We had a great run while it lasted though! I remember when we were young summer lasted forever or so it seemed. Many of us probably wish we could go back to that simpler time. I have so many fond memories of my childhood summers that included spending time at my aunt Bertha and uncle Gordon’s house in Upper Island Cove. It became like a second home to me. Me and my cousin Cindy and the rest of the crew spent our days swimming at the pond, going for walks and grabbing a lunch at the drugstore or Johnny Crane’s shop. A lunch consisted of a tin of drink, bag of chips and a chunk or caramel log for about a dollar. We’d walk back to Cindy’s house, cram into the cab of the pickup truck and listen to the radio – Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 on Sundays! Uncle Gordon often had hay spread out in the garden, drying. When the first drop of rain would fall we would run to the garden and help rake up the hay as fast as we could and put it in the store. The smell of hay drying was something else. I’d rate it about as heavenly as clothes dried on a clothesline outdoors; it can’t be described. Sometimes we’d go up into the hayloft, jump around in the hay and hang out there listening to the rain. When evening came we’d go over in the “flat hill” across from Cindy’s house and have a wiener roast. There we’d laugh and tell scary stories. We’d explore around the little rock cave that was there, although I’d never go in, me being a scaredy cat and all. In actual fact I don’t know if you could even go inside it. We used to think that it was John Cabot’s cave and when he discovered Newfoundland that’s where he stayed. Many evenings were also spent down by our friend Sheryl’s house playing Chasers. What a time that was, and the more people you had playing the more fun it was. I guess it was like Hide & Seek but at night. As we got a little older we would go to dances out at the Legion. The worst part was at the end of the night when the last dance was playing. If you didn’t have someone to dance with you’d have to wait for your buddies to finish the last waltz before you could leave. The absolute worst was when they’d play “Stairway to Heaven” which goes on forever. Sometimes we’d leave and walk home and be half way in over the long hill before the song was even finished! AND I wish I had a dollar for every quarter (…er you know what I mean…) that we put into the Jukebox, Ms. Pac-Man, Joust, and pinball machines out at Jule’s snack bar. We’d have a few dollars I tell ya! But it was all worth it and I wouldn’t change a single thing from that time. I wish I had the time to talk about the fun and foolish things we did, like sleeping a tent over in the garden and telling ghost stories about the “Scrape Man”. I was terrified, especially when we thought we heard someone outside our tent; didn’t sleep a wink that night. Or the time we were playing badminton and it was my turn to climb over the fence to get the birdie. My short legs didn’t allow for full clearance over the fence so I didn’t know nothing until I heard a rip and tore the arse and leg right out of my pants.

Summers these days, however, consist of cramming as much fun and sun as you possibly can into a two week vacation. The fast pace of today’s living often doesn’t allow for much more than that along with occasional road trips on the weekends. Unfortunately, it’s something we’ve all fallen victim to. Having said that, we had a great summer darting around here and there. Lots of snaps taken and brand new memories made! Here’s a look back at how we saw Summer 2021.

*** Don’t forget to click on the photos to enlarge them! ***

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These days whenever I run into Cindy and my cousin Sharon our conversations always lead to reminiscing about the good old days. We’d laugh and remind each other of the shenanigans we’d get on with; telling stories to one that the other may have forgotten.

A while back on one of our Sunday drives I turned on the radio and lo & behold guess what was on? You guessed it, Casey Kasem’s Top 40, the original shows from years ago! It was like a blast from the past. Much to the chagrin of John and Charlotte I left it on, the long distance dedication and all.

As the sun sets on another Labour Day weekend and summer is nearly gone don’t look ahead to the cold, dreary months that lay ahead but reflect on the summers gone by. Reminisce about the fun times & laughs with old friends and it will get you through until we can bury our faces into line-dried clothes again and take in the goodness of summer.

Until Next Time!

Andrea