Summer Begins - Now

Ah, those lazy crazy days of summer. Well, they were during my school years, when I put aside those pencils and books and had almost three months to sit in trees, ride my bike all day, or eat ice cream while reading comic books. Of course, that's not the case today.

Now, summer means longer days (more daylight is a mood lifter for me) and warmer temperatures--leave the jacket at home, but don't forget the hat. I haven't had a summer vacation since I was 17--at least one that went for months.

Now that I think of it, by mid August I was getting a little bored and it felt like it was time to settle back into the school year. A touch of cool breeze in the evening after a hot day. Then, September, a fresh start, with just a hint of melancholy--the party was over.

Favorite summer themed songs: A Summer Song by Chad and Jeremy (pictured); Summer in the City by the Lovin' Spoonful. How about In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry? One song that feels like summer, without the word in the title, is Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones. I was 12 and that song was playing night and day.

Summer begins in California at 10:16 a.m. today. That's when this blog was posted.

It's Wonderful ('67)

Funny how a certain song can stop you in your tracks. I sometimes (perhaps too often) find myself lingering on the 60's channel on Sirius XM Radio. They love to play the big hits of the day, like "Satisfaction" by the Stones or "Stop in the Name of Love" by the Supremes--great songs, but suffering from overexposure.

Then, up comes "It's Wonderful" by the Rascals (note: you have to wait for it on the YouTube video). The psychedelic musings, four/four keyboard rhythms and odd marching outro are so much a part of that surprisingly short period from 1966 to early 1968 in which acid-themed odd (and long) songs suddenly appeared (and quickly disappeared). They play the Rascals' "Groovin'" all the time, but you rarely hear "It's Wonderful." It's a favorite--along with Tomorrow by the Strawberry Alarm Clock. Yeah, they play that band's "Incense and Peppermints" all the time, but not "Tomorrow."

It's for those little chestnuts that I wait through yet another Four Seasons or Gary Puckett and the Union Gap tune.