JOHNSTOWN —
Remember this time last year? Folks referred to it as “the summer that wasn’t.”
Most days, the mercury struggled to reach the low 70s. Only about five days saw 80 degrees.
I wrote a column sympathizing with backyard swimming pool owners. Cool summers bring only pool maintenance chores with no gratification.
Heat and humidity don’t bother me. I’ve long suspected that I was a lizard in a previous life. I could sprawl out on a rock and bask happily in the sunshine all day.
While this season has been challenging for me in other ways, I’ve been delighted with the hot weather.
We got our backyard pool in the mid-1980s. I excitedly shopped for towels and pool toys.
Retired gentlemen in our neighborhood supervised the installation, while the neighbors’ children charted progress through the fence.
Pool parties became a weekend staple, mixing relations, friends and neighbors.
At one of our first “beach parties,” a neighbor’s preschooler scurried up the ladder, walked out and crouched in the grass briefly, then scampered back into the water.
“Honey, what did you do?” asked her mom, incredulously – although what she’d done was pretty apparent.
“Mom,” the girl explained patiently, “you said, ‘Whatever you do, don't go in the pool!’ ”
When the grownups gathered for raucous volleyball games, the smallest tykes felt left out.
We placed the little ones on rafts to serve as floating “nets.”
The “nets” could participate, provided they didn’t fall off their rafts, and their rulings were final.
Hubby enjoyed barbecuing, but we felt uneasy grilling near the rambunctious children.
The solution? Pool ’n’ pizza days.
Pizza appeals to the young and old, presents no cooking hazard and is easy to clean up.
Neighbors almost always brought their cordless phones along to our deck. That gave us another idea for more grown-up foolishness, and we invented “pizza races.”
Three neighbors, all armed with order lists, dialed the big three pizza sources simultaneously. All three were located in the same area.
Then, we’d bet on which delivery would arrive first. Those who picked the winner split the pot.
Some adults are easily entertained.
Want to get the kids out of the pool quickly? Holler: “Pizza’s here!” Works every time.
This year, I’m reliving pool memories.
I’m also treasuring every minute of this toasty, roasty summer. I know we’ll be wishing for some 80-degree temperatures come January.
Michele Mikesic Bender is a Johnstown resident and a member of The Tribune-Democrat’s Reader Advisory Committee.
Michele Bender
Related Photos
-
Michele Mikesic Bender File Photo/The Tribune-Democrat
Discussion
Pizza races on hot days
- Michele Bender
-
-
MICHELE BENDER | Old enough to know better
Sing along …
“Happy Birthday once more, I just turned sixty-four.” -
The beat goes on
In 1957, my stage-struck mom took my friend Jere and me to see the movie “South Pacific.” It featured awesome scenery, colorful costumes, catchy show tunes and unforgettable characters. It rolled the best of stage and cinema into one package. We were hooked!
-
MICHELE BENDER | Springing into action for Easter
Happy Easter!
People expect certain routines at specific holidays.
They count on fireworks and sparklers on July 4.
Easter demands a basket of colorful eggs and candy. -
MICHELE M. BENDER | Dream a shorter dream
Denise stopped by and caught me napping. “How can you sleep with that bright light on?” she asked.
-
MICHELE M. BENDER | Wedding wackiness
February brings bridal fairs. Bargain-hunting grooms prowl Valentine ring sales, while brides-to-be lose all touch with reality.
-
MICHELE BENDER | It was hit or miss
Did you know they still crown a “Miss America” every year?
-
MICHELE BENDER | Cat-titude creates cat-tastrophes
I often receive feedback from readers. In 2011, my friend Rick said he read my Christmas column to his kids, and they were concerned about the fate of Miss Kitty.
-
MICHELE M. BENDER | Every elf for himself
I’ve never been much of a shopper, even at Christmas. I’m certainly not one who’d stand in an icy, dark parking lot at 4 a.m. with some bunch of wingnuts waiting to purchase a Cabbage Patch doll.
-
MICHELE BENDER | It’s hard to zest a plastic lemon
At Thanksgiving, we count our blessings and express gratitude. You readers can be thankful that I’ve never invited you to dinner.
Some folks have eaten at my house and gone on to live healthy, normal lives. Others, however, tell frightening tales of grisly inedibility. Savory and usually recognizable holiday dishes have emerged looking like weasel intestines and tasting worse. -
MICHELE BENDER | Let’s see a big smile
I confess! I’m a “floss-aholic.” I buy flosser pics (little plastic pics with floss stretched on one end) and keep them in the drawer beside me. I floss after eating anything.
- More Michele Bender Headlines
-
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
