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Summer tale

Summer Tale By Helen Lerry We all have tender memories of Summer. Somehow Summer has defining moments in our lives, unlike Fall and Winter, Spring holds infinite promise and Summer fulfills it. As summer begins to take a firm grip on our lives my thoughts go back to one particular picnic. Having a small yard we would take the children to a neighbourhood park. Loaded with blankets, food and amusements we sallied forth each day accompanied by our dog, Benji. Dogs were not allowed in the park and so Benji spent the day tethered to the perimeter fence in a shady space. He was not alone, many other Mothers took their dogs also. On this particular day, I think it was a Tuesday, but no matter, we set out as usual. I had taken particular care to make a really delicious picnic and we planned to share with two other ‘regulars’ in the park. The Mothers of Amanda and Rupert, aged about 5 and 6. These ages fitted in nicely with our brood and we made a harmonious group. I was short of gas for the car and so we stopped at a self service station and with the children safely in the car, Benji his usual patient self I filled up with gas. Just as I was nearly full a car came speeding into the service area and nearly rammed the back of our car. I dropped the hose in shock.Quickly recovering my ‘sangfroid’ I picked it up, paid and we went on our way and I thought no more of it. We settled into our usual position under a shade tree near a creek and began to enjoy our chats whilst watching the children. When it came time for lunch we all spread out our offerings on a plastic cloth and invited the children to help themselves. I remember clearly how they circled the area and selected a tasty goody each. We all began to eat and then my little son came up to me and said”It tastes funny, Mom”, I looked to see if it was one of our sandwiches and as it was I took it from him and tried it myself. It was tainted with the smell of gas. This must have happened when I dropped the gas hose. Some gas must have spilt into the trunk. We all carefully tasted everything I had provided and it was all tainted. The only food that was edible were the apples. The other Mothers rallied round and we made ‘do’ with what we had. Even the dogs would not eat my picnic. We wondered if any of the children had actually eaten the contaminated food and started to walk around the creek banks looking to see if they had quietly thrown food away, sure enough we came across a little stash of bitten sandwiches and cake. I gathered it up and took it home. Although we all made light of it and even joked, to this day I have never stored food in a car trunk again. About the author: Helen Lerry is a retired teacher from England and is married to a widower friend who immigrated to the States. She has two children, and has written for newspapers in England and for childrens' classes. She writes for 'The Villager' newspaper, in The Villages, San Jose, a community of 4000 retirees. Helen can be contacted at helenpat@kepnet.com

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