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If you’ve seen me about town this past week, you probably noticed I had a huge smile on my face. Why? It’s summertime, we are right in my wheelhouse.
I am just loving this weather, and it’s been days like the past week that I think about in January and February that I yearn for. It’s a week like this that will get me though the doldrums of dark, cold winter.
If you have outdoor projects, if you don’t get them done now, you’re missing the boat. For as much rain has we’ve had, it was nice to have a week with a bit of a break without precipitation. Oh sure, the lawns don’t like it, but it’s great to wash your car and have it clean for a few days in a row.
Outdoor sports have been tough like golf or tennis, but the early mornings and evenings have been great. A friend of mine lives in Florida and always told me that is a typical day in the Sunshine State, you just work around the heat.
My daughter Tiffany gives tennis lessons, and she’s had to work around some scheduling as to not have any of her students get sick on the court, including herself.
Now that school is out and graduations are done and over, for me, this time of the year is a bit tough with work, there’s not a lot of it so at times, I have to really look for something to cover.
There is Little League baseball and softball coverage to look forward to and I’ll get into that very soon.
Summer church and firemen’s bazaars are gearing up so you can find plenty to do on a weekend.
You can always start your weekend on a Thursday by heading to the Mohegan Pennsylvania casino for Party of the Patio.
This past Thursday, while temps were still in the upper 80s, The Cure Tribute Band performed so I headed up to listen to the band. I sat high up in the bleachers and just enjoyed the sights and scene. The band was quite good and there was a lovely breeze making the experience very enjoyable.
It wasn’t over crowded, which surprised me, maybe because The Cure is not a popular band or maybe because people felt it was still too hot to be outside, but if they had gone, they would have been pleasantly surprised.
The casino holds Party on the Patio shows each Thursday right through the end of September. Shows start at 7:30 p.m.
I spoke to a friend of mine about Party on the Patio the other day and I said, if you took away the gambling party, there is plenty to do at the casino. Several of the restaurants have live music, there’s a wine bar with music, and of course there is a comedy club. You don’t have to hit the casino just for gambling.
Speaking of free music, Wilkes-Barre’s Rockin’ the River will gear up on three dates, Friday, July 12, with a U2 tribute band, Friday, July 19, with an Eagles tribute band and opening act The Traveling Wilkes-Barreans, and Friday, July 26, with female country recording artist, Lanie Gardner, all on the River Common at Millennium Circle near the Market Street Bridge. Food and vendors will be available from 5 p.m. and music from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
It’s crazy to say, but the Fourth of July is just 12 days away, and I’m hoping July goes by a lot slower than June did.
Don’t forget Pittston’s 2nd Friday Art Walks; it’s a great night to get out on a Friday evening to support merchants and listen to some music and grab some food.
And we cannot forget our Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. Not everyone can sit at a few hour sporting event, but trust me, going to the ballpark, sitting in the evening air, grabbing a bag of popcorn or pizza and beer, and you’re set.
Getting to the park is important, we need to support our local professional sports teams because if the support isn’t there, eventually they will find another city that would appreciate them and off they go. Luckily for us, when the Phillies pulled out, the Yankees had an interest to move in.
Summers fly by now but as a child, summers lasted forever. I would spend a lot of my hot, lazy, hazy days of summer at the community pool.
I met up with my childhood friend last week and we reflected on life when we were children. We realized while chatting, it was 12:58 p.m., and 50 years earlier, we were two minutes away from the doors opening to the community pool and how we’d be waiting in line to get it and find our spot for our towels.
When not swimming, we would hang out on our towels listening to WARM The Mighty 590 catching up on the top 40 tunes of the day. Yes, I’d go back in a heartbeat.
Quote of the Week
“At the heart of western freedom and democracy is the belief that the individual man…is the touchstone of value, and all society, groups, the state, exist for his benefit. Therefore the enlargement of liberty for individual human beings must be the supreme goal and abiding practice of any western society.” – Robert F. Kennedy
Thought of the Week
“Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.” – Henry David Thoreau
Bumper Sticker
“To safeguard democracy the people must have a keen sense of independence, self-respect, and their oneness.” – Mohandas K. Gandhi