AMERICANA SUMMER
I’ve recently moved to the Hudson Valley, and the ghosts of the American Revolution are inescapable! I like it that way. I believe in the American project and people, and I believe that we who fill this country with ideas and community and optimism cast a shadow that extends far beyond the temporary flash of authoritarianism and other transient evils!
Americana is bottled in the essence and levities of a people who do not forget and do not stand down. A people who create and gamify and hate being told no and love sweets and the smell of smoke and gathering and having vision and being outdoors and speaking loudly. It is people who are historically conspiratorial and skeptical but also god-fearing, welcoming, and sacrificial.
These are some small things that, for me, illustrate the distinct placehood and nostalgia of summer in this country. As 250 approaches, I am reminded of all the breezy good I have experienced here. Here are my musts for an Americana Summer:
-splinters
-Denouncing the government and embracing the flag
-punch buggy
-amateur baseball games
-bonfires
-cokes
-hikes
-air-conditioned big box stores
-bandanas
-milkshakes
-fights with your sister
-sticky fingers
-bumblebees
-big towels
-tom petty
-a new friend
-historic homesteads
-summer feet
-giving the plants a good soak
-porches
-ozone smells
-sunglasses
-dogs
-sand in crotch
-white socks
-drive-in movies
-stomach aches
-running (play)
-sprinklers
-really short haircut
-corn
-crying on a bench
-dirty dancing
-green stuff on your leg after jumping into the lake
-lemonade
-warm hose water smell
-your ass sticking to a chair
-handholding
-folk art
-shorts that are too long
-shorts that are too short
-al green
-gingham
-tree climbing
-stadium chairs
-texting
-road trip
-after work beers
-old navy
-headphones
-air drying your hair
-seeing grandma
-burger smells
-trying an oyster
-churches
-Seeing a cow
-looking at yourself in someone else’s sunglasses
-sun-in
-hanging basket flowers
-American Revolution reenactments
-Willie Nelson
-Seeing a Heron
-thrift stores
-cross your heart and hope to die
-early dentist appointments
-leg scratches
