Summers Past

I think a lot about my Florida summers. I think about how things were at work at the prison as well as how things were on vacations and on week-ends. I remember driving down to another prison in the middle of summer to see a former asst. warden. I went with my good friend and he and I traveled through the middle of the state which has no development whatsoever if you're in south Florida. It's mostly farmland and lots of kudzu covering trees on the side of the two-lane roads we had to take. But it was a good day. We were cool in the car and always had good conversations. I'd forgotten about that trip until a few years ago. Strange how many things seem to fade away and since I've moved up here have returned again.

I think about sitting by my pool, reading a good book and getting into the pool whenever I got too hot not to be wet. A lot of times I would stand in the pool and lean against the edge and read for long periods of time. My tans were beautiful back then. Now I have no tan that shows. I have no place to be out of doors in the sun and be comfortable here.

I think about St. Augustine and the times we spent there for vacation. I remember watching my son ride his bike on the beach when he was quite young - six or seven. He would pedal and pedal, faster and faster, and get far ahead of me as I walked along the beach and then he would make a u-turn and come back towards me with a huge smile on his face and the wind blowing his hair back so you could see that smile and see the joy the beach gave him.

I miss Florida summers whether I was working or not, at home or away. I wonder if I'll ever miss anything about New Jersey when I escape from here. I can't imagine.