Early June. Welcoming the unofficial start of Summer. Here in the North/mid/east all the seasons don’t slowly blend into one like most of our southern friends .Our season are abrupt, extreme and sometimes frightening. Winter here was brutal and the snow piled higher than cars at times. It has yet to release us from her grip as here I am on June 7 seeking desperately a hoody to help me make it thru the morning.
It was an email from cousin Jim Gill “Paul McCartney and Wings (on the radio now) remind me of our visits to Jersey.” that triggered this post. Also a call from a very old friend Jim McSherry was filled with resurrected Summers.
This topic has been covered ad infinitum yet I feel a desire to write about it. I’ve waited 55 years to finally say, “You kids don’t know how good you got it.” or “Get off my lawn you no good sons of bitches!” Social media is swarmed with the “when I was young…” cliche. Social media will always be telling us about life before the internet. I remember the set of outdated encyclopedias in our rec room actually WERE my internet. And if it wasn’t in there, then I really did walk 20 miles in the snow (actually it was more like one mile and it was only in the snow once) to the little library on Carteret avenue. I filled many reports with cut out photos and charts from those encyclopedias……and I hate to admit I also used books from the library for my primative “cut and paste” knowledge.
Todays internet brats don’t know how good they got it. But the internet is just the first in-line glaring example of how things have changed. Summer has changed dramatically as I look around now at the empty streets and playgrounds. Most kids have resorted to cyber entertainment. When we played in the Summer, we had to use our imagination. First of all our Summers were at least three weeks longer! For whatever reason the school year has definitely lengthened for todays school kids.
It started on the carpet when Jim McSherry and I would play “little army” with plastic soldiers frozen in boring poses. We don’t know where he got them but Johnny Lambert had the coolest, meanest looking Japanese toy soldiers in unique poses of death and destruction. How we yearned for those politically incorrect yellow soldiers. They were never to be found in any toy store.
There was always our pool and Kenny Gitters pool which sometimes became strange when we decided to take off our suits and swim naked. Mrs. Gitter put an end to that real quick Most hot Summer days she could be found at the end of our kitchen table playing Scrabble with our mom. They had also discovered a fabulous new drink by reading “Hints from Heloise” in the Star Ledger. It was called Iced Coffee. It was this same Heloise daily article where mom found out that we could actually eat the skin on our baked potatoes and didn’t have to throw them away with the tinfoil that they were wrapped in.
Actually football is always compared to a chess match. Maybe because the knight wears a helmet?
As the Summers progressed we invented new things to do and keep us occupied. One time we spent an entire Summer in our backyard creating mazes with lego pieces and watching bugs walk around in circle. It would piss us off when some bugs would just say “fuck this” and climb the Lego wall to exit our “maze of doom.”
Unfortunately for these clever bugs escape usually meant being captured again and being subject to some cruel torturous death. Being burned to death with a laser from the sun via a magnifying glass was a popular choice.
In our neighborhood the 5th of July was much more popular than the actual holiday on the fourth. For it was the day after the nightly fireworks that we would walk the sidewalks and gutters looking for “duds” Unexploded fireworks. Anything. Fire crackers, bottle rockets, the remains of a roman candle. We bought hundreds of these used explosives home and carefully unraveled them into a box. It was long tedious hours with little payoff. I ate a few crabs last Summer and it kind of reminded me of that. A lot of work with little meat and never feeling close to having my appetite satisfied.
What we did with our gunpowder harvest hardly satisfied my appetite for destruction either. I was pretty keen on destroying plastic tank models that I spent weeks building but that was usually done with gasoline. Sometimes we got lucky and were able to purchase real fireworks from the local firework dealer on Tennyson street. We would knock on this teenage kids door and barter with him. A nickel, a dime, ANYTHING for one single firecracker or bottle rocket.
We played outside. Sidestreet baseball, touch football, man hunt. We built forts in trees and under bridges. We explored the endless miles of railroad tracks that led up the dirt hill from Daniele. We hung out on the trestle
Then there were the Summers of the Gills. I had already written about this in a previous posts but these were great times. Just a few years after the passing of our father, it was good to have a man in the house again. This was Summer at it’s very best. Carefree and happy. Lot’s of pool, barbecue and popcorn. Wherever we went, we all went together. Filled the station wagon and sang songs from the FM together. It never got any better than this.
We did surrender to TV though, although it was a different monster than it is now. A huge wooden box attached to an antenna on the roof. Seven channels and sometimes eight, if we could get channel 3 to come in. Monty Python was a Summer staple on Sunday nights along with all the other mindless sitcoms of the day. Greg got us into “Dark Shadows” Saturday Night Wrestling and eventually Mary Hartman Mary Hartman.
The Day I Beat Walter Lambert In Chess
In the Summer of 72 we sat in front of channel 13 and “watched” the championship of chess between Russia and USA. This was huge when we were young. There still was a cold war going on and anything Russia vs USA was must see. At this time Bobby Fischer was still in the progress of losing his mind and didn’t allow cameras in the room where they were playing. So, for the entire Summer we sat in front of the TV and watched some guy move paper chess pieces on an upright paper board. There were sometimes HOURS between moves. It was like watching grass grow yet this is how we spent an entire Summer. This championship match had ignited a national interest in the game that we caught.
In 1973, this was worth more than three bars of solid gold.
I had gotten rather good at the game and even got a book from the library. Next to Fran Tarkenton, the then quarterback of the New York Football Giants, Bobby Fischer was an absolute hero to me. I studied and envied his life and his mysterious quiet way was even more intreging.
So one day, it happened. In the Lamberts always open garage door, I challenged Walter Lambert to a game of chess. Nobody had ever beaten him or even come close. And he would smirk and let out a whinny laugh everytime he beat one of us and called us knuckleheads for even trying.
But as the game went on, it became interesting and a small crowd began to gather around. I knew I had him on the ropes and he was just waiting for one stupid move, like we always seemed to make, to beat us. Not only did I keep my head in the game but I actually check mated the older, the wiser, the much cooler Walter Lambert. There was a shock of silence first but then the place erupted. George beat Walter Lambert. Yes. George Hartman had beat Walter Lambert in a game of chess. In the Summer of 1972 in a small rural town off the New Jersey Turnpike where planes flew overhead to land in Newark… I had become a folk hero for a few days. I had indeed beaten Walter Lambert at chess.
For me,
I want every anticipated Summer to be good. I yearn for the sun in my face. I watch our tomatoes and flowers grow. I BBQ ribs and steak on weekends. I’ve seen a Summer moon rise from the deck. I love each abrupt season better than the next. I couldn’t stand ‘summer all the time” or rainy seasons but Summer is a great time to feel alive. There is no greater swim than body surfing on an Atlantic ocean wave. Much like George Costanza, today, I proclaim this THE SUMMER OF GEORGE!
the abrupt seasons
I’ve only just arrived suprax 400 mg mexico My guess is at night time this might happen more frequently so there might be a bit of illicit nookie in the sand dunes which we might pick up on camera.”
Thanks funny site picture of zocor tablets Where is your vitriol for the masters of the world? Our leaders are corrupt puppets to wealthy owners who see us all as chattel
What sort of music do you listen to? bromelain ibuprofen TSB, which set itself up as a challenger to Britain’s fourbiggest banks Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland,Barclays and HSBC, said such a move wouldaccelerate its growth prospects and help it compete with rivals.
Is there ? buy desloratadine 5 mg dose Castro has an affordable contract (five more years, $43 million) that adds to his trade value, so there is sure to be interest from other teams
How much is a Second Class stamp? citalopram hpr While it likely sells some of the euros it buys for sterling, dollars and yen, a good 45 percent or so will likely end up in euro-denominated instruments of the various member states.
Free medical insurance entocort onde comprar Matthew Miller, 25, of Bakersfield, California, had prepared his story in advance and written in a notebook that he was seeking refuge after failing in an attempt to collect information about the US government, state media said.
I can’t get a dialling tone lotrimin af for babies The next morning I still had a fuel surplus from the day before and hopped on the scale to assess the damage
Thanks for calling differin hind At the conclusion, Edison will make recommendations on smart grid technologies to the industry
Jonny was here adapalene 0.3 gel We found that boys are 50% more likely than girls to have such conditions and children in the lowest socio-economic households are 50% more likely than those in other households to have such a condition,” explained IPH research analyst, Steve Barron.
I want to report a amoxicillin 500mg buy online uk In Baghdad, the bomber blew himself up among Shiite worshippers as they were leaving a mosque in a commercial area in the city center after midday prayers Monday, killing at least 17 people and wounding 28, a police officer said.
This is your employment contract pregnancy and synthroid and insomnia He became convinced that criminals are a step back down the evolutionary ladder, a reversion to a primitive or subhuman type of man
I’d like to apply for this job tretinoin purge reddit Where others may have been lured into gambling for steals with the Kingpin of verticality always there to play the role of a security blanket, George remained disciplined and precise.
What do you want to do when you’ve finished? lyrics to bratz yasmin song It has since been the subject of countless books in movies such as Steven Chow’s 2001 comedy “Shaolin Soccer.”
Where do you live? sinemet cr levodopa carbidopa The study found that people who reached at least a level five in anger were 8.5 times more likely to suffer a heart attack in the two hours following that episode, when compared with people with lower levels of anger.
What part of do you come from? o preço do remédio haldol His motto, featured on his website noahgalloway.com, is “Train Like a Machine.”
I’m unemployed sucralfate side effects bloating The president does an annual television segment each March in which he reveals his March Madness picks and he didn’t have Georgia State knocking off Baylor in the second-round West Region matchup in Jacksonville
I love the theatre reviance Pham received a transfusion on Monday containing antibodies to fight the virus, according to a Roman Catholic priest in her congregation
good material thanks alesse approved for acne The charity recently launched a new Business Debtline website – including a range of features for business owners in debt, includingfact sheets, all in one place
We need someone with qualifications digoxin toxicity level in blood “We had an opportunity to have him back on campus last year and really acknowledge him and thank him for all that he gave West Virginia State, but also all that he gave for anyone that he ever encountered,” Hemphill said.
Do you know the number for ? clarinex safe for breastfeeding Fans can hear their call-and-response interactions with Garbus at the Music Hall of Williamsburg through Monday.
Could I make an appointment to see ? purchase erythromycin topical solution usp 2 The lovebirds were seen canoodling and enjoying each other’s company before the concert.
I was made redundant two months ago ibuprofen acetomenophin naproxen Jonathan Pell, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.
Jonny was here fluoxetine anxiety side effect Much of the 40 million of taxpayers\’ money spent on planning for the now abandoned children\’s hospital at the Mater site in Dublin may have been wasted, the latest financial statements of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board have indicated.
I’ve been cut off lithium fero nano batteries Dr Smith noted that so far, women have been better than men at accepting the screening invitation
I’ve just started at hydrochloride bupropion When police returned to the hospital two days later, they found Marquez’s signature on the baby’s birth certificate, confirming he was the biological dad
What do you like doing in your spare time? serpina1b The speed and scale of the rally could make further gainsdifficult to come by, especially in the final trading week ofthe year, when many market participants are out on holiday andthere are few trading catalysts
I’m not interested in football casodex generic side effects depression We need to support colleagues by focusing on recovery and prevention,” Dr Banerjee insisted.
It’s a bad line rosalind chao crestor It struck a nerve among parents, who wouldn’t want their teenagers subjected to that kind of criticism
Who would I report to? purchase clarithromycin And there are the morons who gather at their club’s stadium, not to welcome new recruits but to yelp and grunt behind the poor Sky Sports News HQ (don’t forget the HQ) reporter who has the grim job of telling watchers of Sky Sport News HQ (HQ remember) that absolutely nothing has happened since we were last with him/her.
Canada>Canada benadryl ingredients Despite local media reports that one of the winners Radio Centro may not be able to pay for the channel it won, Contreras said he had seen no evidence of that.
How many more years do you have to go? silagra wirkt nicht “There may be synergies but we can’t draw any firm conclusions from the data so far,” said Eric Van Cutsem of theUniversity of Leuven, who was not involved in the research
I’m doing a phd in chemistry can you drink alcahol with paxil Isis are not ready to reconcile and may never be, and yet I am sure that revenge tactics will not work either
I work for myself dosage inderal * Russia’s largest oil producer, state-controlled Rosneft, will restart its Siberian Achinsk refinery on Aug.25, two months after halting operations following a fire inJune, trading sources told Reuters on Thursday.
Get a job year of fda approval for plendil The UK already had the largest continuous, fully protected marine reserve in the world – around the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean
Have you got any qualifications? can i buy beconase aqueous nasal spray Douglas Greenaway, president of the National WIC Association, said the report proves that “science should be at the center” of decisions about foods in WIC
What’s the current interest rate for personal loans? 100 mg topamax migraines China Mobile, the key distributor of the newiPhone with more than 700 million subscribers on its sprawlingnetwork, declined to comment.
Thanks for calling what does an antabuse tablet look like “Taxes are changing, credit provision and state bank supportare being discussed, tariff policies are being revised
Cool site goodluck 🙂 erythromycin price india This information is not used by us for any other type of audience recording or monitoring.
Until August atrovent hfa inhaler prescribing notes But the analysis of the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances, a triennial survey published in September with 2013 data, makes it clear that heavy borrowing is usually rewarded with big salaries
Can you hear me OK? harga nucef cefixime 100 mg Stocks fell on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 set to fall fora third straight week
Best Site Good Work cephalexin breastfeeding Brady’s responsibilitieswill include overseeing the infrastructure, applicationsdevelopment methodology, and architecture functions of AIG’stechnology organization, Chief Information Officer Phil Fasanowrote in a memo to employees.
How would you like the money? fosamax and weight gain The prosecutor sent the case for trial in a criminal court, a rare action against a member of the security forces, on a charge of action that “led to the death of” Sabbagh – a lesser charge than murder.
What company are you calling from? buy generic bimatoprost 0.03 ** Shareholders on Friday voted to approve the mergers ofrival oilfield services firms Baker Hughes Inc andHalliburton, bringing the proposed deal that still lacksregulatory approvals a step closer to finalization.
Very Good Site overdose with zyrtec and mucinex It unleashed a two-day charge by IS to within 95 miles (153 km) of Baghdad that caused the collapse of four Iraqi divisions and the capture or deaths of thousands of soldiers
Photography onde encontrar zydena 100 mg Although Maru, who was employed by agency NHS Professionals and provided to the hospital as a temporary worker when she carried out the thefts, had previous convictions for theft, these had not been identified in a vetting process.
I’m originally from Dublin but now live in Edinburgh generic nexium over the counter When trying to detect the radicalization to violence of small groups of men who may be unknown to law enforcement, it is vital to understanding the demographics of a city, not to ineffectively surveil whole communities, but rather to identify hotspots for radicalization, where those who discuss and debate turning to violence meet
I’m not working at the moment other uses for clotrimazole A survey of 10,000 people by the Equality and Human Rights Commission in 2012 suggested that 1% of the population was transgender
Could I have a statement, please? bupropion ohne rezept The company has confirmed that at least some are authentic, apologizing for the loss of sensitive employee data and some comments made by executives.
How much does the job pay? caverta 25 mg uses in hindi It seems the tolerance for any kind of writing that is critical is much less than it was before,” Dunne said.
I have my own business himcolin oil Kids who were found to be allergic to mice seemed to be more likely to have had at least one asthma-related department visit in the previous year compared with children not allergic to mice, showed the study.