Friday, August 21, 2009

Summer of '69


You know how the say smells can elicit memories? It's true. I got a strong whiff of Skunk today!! Man did that put me on guard! I remembered the summer of 1969. We, my brother Rick and me, would wait until the folks were asleep then scurry out our bedroom window. We'd hook up with Eric, Jeff, and Paul, we were a "gang"!

Off to the golf course to get driving range balls, of course we did other things I'd best not publish....ahem...it was on that golf course I caddied every weekend in '68 and this particular Summer. I still remember one of the guys yelling.."What's that!" I turned just in time to see the back end of a Skunk fast approaching us! It was getting ready to spray! We took off and made a narrow escape but the smell was thick in the still night air!

That was the summer I went to The Boy Scout National Jamboree, where I saw Neil Armstrong step foot on the moon. The Summer we heard about Woodstock and fell under the influence of flower power! Those were the good ole days! All from a whiff of Skunk!!

Totals-5.41 miles at recovery pace. Now over two days off! I ought to be rested!

Hope you have a great weekend! Good luck on the race, Marlene, Peace all!

12 comments:

Unknown said...

Rest up! And no skunks for dinner!

jel said...

hubby raised 6 from babys when he was a kid,

A Plain Observer said...

great post, can't believe how much influence that little fellow had on your life!
Glad you didn't get sprayed.

Marlene said...

Ew! Skunk!

Thanks so much for the shout-out and good luck, Mark. I appreciate it!

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Lindsay said...

wow what a memory that would have been! enjoy a couple rest days and have a good weekend!

Bare It All said...

Mmmmm, smells and memories. Most of mine are food smells...Skunk smell reminds me of the time we were over at a friends' house last summer and he got sprayed by a skunk ourside. His wife wouldn't let him in the house until he had stripped down. We all averted our eyes, but I was crying I laughed so hard. :)

Unknown said...

You cracked me up !!! You sure have a great memory based on seeing that little critter - the skunk and the smell of it.

Good post !

Fran said...

Thanks for stopping by at my blog.

At first I thought you were referring to the Bryan Adams song and than I looked at your age and it came to me that you were bringing back memories :)

I see you're a marathon runner. I will stop by here every now and then, I might just learn something from you.

Unknown said...

Congrats on your son going back to college, mine was off again early this morning and I won't see him until Thanksgiving. Seems like a long time!

Smells are powerful and memorable, even skunks!

Have some wonderful days off, you'll come back so well-rested!
Thanks for visiting my blog! I enjoyed yours!

Beth said...

It cracks me up that you were a flower child! I should have known since you sign you blog with the wish of "Peace"! Maybe some of those stories would make another blog?

Anne said...

Agreed the smell of skunk is a scent you don't quickly forget -- even 40 years later, for you.

Bob A said...

Smells and sounds often transport me to the past. I was peeling a grapefruit recently and the childhood memories that stirred up were so real, it was a bit freaky -- making and eating grapefruit rind candy at Christmas (yeah, a bit strange -- I love it but my wife thinks it's one of the strangest things she's ever eaten or heard of).

Sauna

      This is the most wonderful time of year! I love the heat and humidity! Yet I still get out earlier due to my advanced age! 4.4 miles! ...