Summer Senses

We are in a heat wave. During the snowy winter we all looked so forward to the hot weather. But not this hot. There is a limit. Yesterday, as I left my house, I heard the James Taylor remake of the song "Up on the Roof". For some reason, just hearing that song sent my mind back to 1960's Brooklyn. Air conditioning was a luxury and most stores still had overhead fans. It is amazing how we can remember the scents of summer. I can still recall how the local bank smelled on a blazing summer day. It was as if all of the paper and currency filled the air with a warm ink odor. I can recall the smell of the hot pavement, mixed with the diesel fuel of the trucks as they rolled over the hot asphalt avenue.  Even people had a musky, sweaty mix. I can still bring back the scent of a rubber bathing cap, that all girls were required to wear, in a public pool. I loved to pop the rubber bubbles and always picked out the cap with the most flowers attached to it. But the best smell of all was the way the pavement smelled as the sprinklers hit the sidewalk and then passed over the wet grass. Last night as I took a walk around my block, I stopped in front of someone's sprinkler and just breathed in the air. The smell was exactly as it was in 1960. Nothing changed. I felt like I was 5 again. Itsy, Bitsy, Teeny,Weeny, Yellow  Polka Dot Bikini.........