What Are You Doing This Summer?
Record heat. Oil spills. The recession. Whichever way you turn these days, you will find a roadblock to summer fun this year. Not to mention stress-inducing events that require some down time to get over them. So how do you do it?
Like most people throughout the country, I am not in the position of taking an actual vacation this year, so I have to find creative ways to decompress and "get away from it all." In fact, the closest I came to having fun was a couple of trips into Boston, but those were centered around my daughter's hospitalization, so they don't count.
Still, it would be nice to be able to do something that didn't require a lot of money, a lot of planning or traveling, but is still fun. What would you do?
For me, it always comes down to books. When I can't go to the actual places I want to, I "travel" to them via books. I love books because I'm not limited by money, availability, or the practicality of doing it. I'm not even limited by time or space. This week, for instance, I am visiting the mills of Northern England in the 1850's via the book North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. A few weeks ago, I visited the modern day mid-west with Adriana Trigiani's Viola in Reel Life. And the prospects for next week are wide open. I could visit medieval England or the Highlands of Scotland, or maybe spend some time with Louisa May Alcott in 1800's New England. I could delve into the world of geishas or members of a harem, or just meet the girls Friday Mornings at Nine, courtesy of Marilyn Brant. The choices - and the possibilities - are truly endless.
So that is how I will spend the hazy, lazy days of summer in my humid little corner of the world. How about you? Any fun plans for the summer?
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