Snapshots Of Summer (and some links)

I was recently looking through some pictures from last summer.  There is one that I keep coming back to.  It is of my two boys standing in their great grandparent’s backyard in Puerto Rico.  It had just started to rain, and the boys were standing under a banana leaf shelter that my oldest son had made.  He had the biggest smile on his face.  That picture defines last summer for me.  It made me think of other defining summer moments.

• When I was in high school.  I spent the summer between my junior and senior years with my best friend and his grandmother.  My dad was doing schoolwork in Michigan, and the rest of our family was with him.  I stayed behind so I could work.  My buddy had this above ground pool.  The pool guy came out to shock it five times that summer, but he never got rid of this swampy green color.  You couldn’t see six inches into that pool.  We didn’t care.  We swam in it anyway.  The picture in my mind that sums up that whole summer, is me and my buddy walking in circles, making whirlpools in that dark green water while we listened to the heavy metal hour on the local college radio station.
• The summer before my youngest son turned two, we took my parents along with us on our yearly trip to Puerto Rico.  My little guy was not pleased with the heat and humidity.  He wasn’t a big talker when he was tiny.  The whole time we were there, he made faces to let us know how he felt about the weather.  We set the camera up with a timer to get a good group photo.  It came out great. Pretty much everyone was smiling and no one had their eyes closed.  My youngest, though, he just looked disgusted.  He was holding onto his little blanket with a look that said “it’s freaking hot, take me home.”
• Shortly after we got married, my wife and I had the opportunity to visit with some friends of ours who lived in Barbados.  It was the first time I had ever been to the islands.  I remember going out for breakfast the first morning we were there.  The waitress brought out orange juice for us and my wife’s friend, who we were traveling with, said, “This is the best orange juice I have ever had.”  The waitress just looked at her and said, “It’s Tang.”  That trip was the start of my Caribbean addiction.  I have a picture of my wife standing against a wall wearing pink shorts and a black top, with a flower in her hair, looking cute as can be.  It’s an all time favorite, and defines that summer.

LINKS

• It was a good week for movie trailers.  New James Bond trailer.  New Mockingjay trailer.
• Some guys were making a snowboarding video in Russia and they caught this rabbit surviving an avalanche on film.
• Macgyver was one of my childhood heroes, mullet and all.  Here is a website devoted to the man, the myth, the legend.
• We are well into baseball season now.  Here are some videos of players and managers having complete meltdowns during games.  My personal favorite is Lloyd McClendon stealing first base.