You know what “they” say, “Time sure flies when you are having fun.” Boy, we must be having lots of fun. Summer seems to have just flown by. It seems only yesterday that it was Memorial Day, the official start of summer.
Memorial Day is, of course, a National Day of Mourning, with flag displays, parades, concerts and all manner of activities honoring fallen service members. The Memorial Day Boat Race is always written prominently on the calendar. It seems so far away, doesn’t it?
We waited a long time for summer to begin and here we are facing Labor Day, a day that celebrates working, something I am proud to say no longer do.
Who, back in April, didn’t start asking me when the ice cream emporium on the wharf would be opening? (How would I know?) Or, when the band concerts began. No clue.
The Fourth of July suddenly crept up upon us with the annual road race, which frankly is the real start of summer around here. Throngs of masochists gathered to run and sweat in the heat … another activity I no longer do … over 4 miles of pristine roads (just kidding). Thankfully, no serious injuries were reported along Water Street by the town beach, which eagerly awaits the much-anticipated reconstruction coming sometime in the next century.
The annual Town Band concerts began on the Third with what may be the biggest crowd ever, possibly due to the masses in town for the race. Some poor souls found orange parking tickets on their windshields for parking above the boat ramp, apparently an illegal activity no one knew about.
Not too long after, the big tent went up announcing Harbor Days, when the village would become one large parking lot. New no-parking signs appeared above the boat ramp, preventing unknowing visitors from getting hot under the collar.
Speaking of hot, the annual crafts fair tied the weekend up on the hottest days of the year, as usual. Mother Nature must have decided to make up for last year when the event was cut short due to rain. Not to be forgotten, the annual triathlon followed a week later.
Soon the Shipyard Park grass began to recover from the masses trampling it, and the next annual event, the grand Community Picnic, arrived on the Munro Preserve, the town’s unofficial patio. The lot above the boat ramp filled with cars … no signs prohibiting parking were to be seen. No orange tickets were observed.
Summer suddenly seems to be over. The band concerts have ended, and I rarely see another human being on my afternoon walks. The town is a virtual ghost town during the week. Of course, cruise nights continue, weather permitting, but the summer vibe is gone. Heck, if I were still teaching, I’d be back in the classroom now. Oooo, bite my tongue.
Where has summer gone?
Mattapoisett resident Dick Morgado is an artist and happily retired writer. His newspaper columns appeared for many years in daily newspapers around Boston.
Thoughts on …
By Dick Morgado