Before moving on to the guest post by Slim Randles I want to share something special from last Sunday. The Let’s Play Beginner Drama Camp at the Winnsboro Center for the Arts was dedicated to me, and I must say it was a great honor, as well as a huge surprise. I was the Theatre Director at the art center for almost 15 years and the summer drama camps were always the high point of my year. It was such a thrill to work with those kids and see their creativity blossom. Not to mention working with the talented camp leaders, especially George Gagliardi who wrote songs with the kids for the original musical production that the kids put together.
The drama camps evolved over the years from a simple one-week program to the two-week intensive camp that WCA has now. I am so proud of what it has become, and I am confident that those who have stepped up to administrate the camps now will make them even more successful.
Slim Randles brings a thoughtful piece to the blog today, and it is perfect for those of us who cherish a great summer evening when we can step outside, leave our worries and concerns in the house, and just enjoy. I can actually feel a lifting of my spirit every time I step outside.
Now, here’s Slim.
Our day is filled with heat at this time of year. It commands our attention and makes our work harder. As we toil, we daydream not about love or success, but things as mundane as shade and a cool drink.
But though the oppressive heat weighs on our brains and taxes our bodies, it is the price we pay for being allowed to spend time outdoors … and it has its one singular consolation: our summer evenings.
When the sun goes down in summer, it’s romantic enough to hug a cactus.
The recipe is simple; keep the earth warm, but just bring out the stars and a soft breeze that cools the skin. Mix this with a fulmination of little night varmint sounds of peeping and chirping and croaking.
And guitars.
Whether we play them ourselves or just turn on the radio, a lovely summer evening is a setting that is perfect for guitars. Villalobos, Fernando Sor, Tarrega, Randy Travis, Doc Watson, Steve Cormier.
We sit on brick-paved patios with something cool and someone sweet and relax and talk about dreams, because on evenings like this, anything is possible.
On nights like this, it’s difficult to decide whether remembering evenings like this in the past is better than anticipating those to come. All we really know is that it sure is nice to be here right now.
Tonight I’m going to see if I can remember all the words to “Little Joe the Wrangler” and find out if my guitar is still in tune.
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Brought to you by Tractor Supply Company “Everything but the tractor.”
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Before you go, don’t forget to enter the CONTEST I’m sponsoring with a number of other authors. You could win a bunch of neat prizes, including a Kindle Fire. I’m sponsoring with my mystery, Open Season. Check out all the books and authors on the giveaway site. I’ve found a couple of new books I’m going to read. The contest ends June 30, 2018. Click and enter every day.
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Slim Randles writes a nationally syndicated column, “Home Country” and is the author of a number of books including