Hot summer days lying on the beach,

Running and diving into the waves of an ever cool Lake Michigan,

Getting pulled off of our feet by the strong undertow of the water,

Riding our bikes without an adult on the five mile trip to the beach,

Curled up in the crotch of our biggest oak tree, reading my favorite book,

Playing hop scotch on the sidewalk on our city streets,

Walking to school so that we could do tricks on the Jungle Gym,

Cleaning Venetian  blinds for my mother with a mitten on my hand,

Working in our vegetable garden, pulling tomato worms off of the vines,

Picnics at a roadside park when we went for a Sunday afternoon drive,

Remembering the heat in church and all of the ladies fanning themselves,

Roasting hot dogs and marsh mellows at a bonfire at the State Park.

Watching the double features at the movie theaters downtown,

Eating a hot fudge sundae at the old Occidental Hotel ice cream shop after the show,

Listening to my serial radio shows like “Superman” every weekday afternoon,

Cleaning my room under protest, every Saturday morning,

Watching the Muskegon Lassies play softball, as part of the “Knothole Gang”‘

As I sit here on another summer morning I remember anew

my parents, brothers and sisters, cousins, my  family and friends,

All of whom gave me a wonderful childhood to look back at and to be grateful for.

Those were the days, my friends, those were the days!