Johnny Case in Wonderland . . . hopelessly adrift in popular culture

Why yes, that is a High Ball made with bacon infused Woodford Reserve (thanks to my friend The Lady of the House, whose infusion recipe I follow).  In addition to ginger beer and lemon, there’s also some muddled mint in there, a trick I picked up from the Zig Zag Cafe awhile back.  Basically, it’s delicious and it tastes just like summer, which is appropriate now that summer has finally arrived.  It was in the mid-80s yesterday and it felt spectacular, but the fact that it’s raining today doesn’t lessen my belief in summer’s arrival, because for me summer is a state of mind.  You can just feel it at a certain point when enough events in your life have converged to let you know it’s here:  My kids’ baseball season is over, which means no more coaching (which I’ll miss a little).  Classes are out and graduation has come and gone.  I’m beginning to receive weekend BBQ/house party invitations in bunches.  My dance card is quickly filling up as friends from around the country are confirming plans to visit Bedford Falls this summer!  I’ve gone on several mountain bike rides during which I was actually hot instead of freezing.  I rode home from the bar a few nights ago in my customary summer flip flops, shorts, and tee shirt and wasn’t miserable.  I just measured my son and he has grown almost two inches since December.  How is that even possible?  I bought my daughter a queen sized bed yesterday because the twin bed that at one point looked as though it would swallow her whole now looks more akin to a dollhouse bed when she’s in it.  I am in the final stages of editing a two volume project and I’ve decided to focus solely on that rather than also making a new movie, thus making my work life in the coming months entirely reasonable.  The Catalpa tree—always the last to do so—has finally leafed out.  The hummingbirds that have visited so sporadically the last six or so weeks are now regular customers.  I find myself eating meals on the back patio all the time now.  My freezer is full of ice cream.  The awesome CSA co-op of which I am a member begins pick-ups this week.  The public pool opens today and the Bedford Falls Beets had their opening game just last night.  I have received my Wiffle Ball Tourney invite, for which I was the first person to RSVP.  Softball season is in full swing, which means biking with friends to the games and too many shots afterwards, thus making the bike a wise choice.  Summer is here and I can feel it in my bones.  It comes more quickly than it used to, and it doesn’t last as long as it once did, but the way the light hits the land as it fades on certain evenings and the smell of dirt and wheat in the air that permeates many Bedford Falls mornings remains and even though when I look in the mirror I can see how much I’ve aged in recent years—which never fails to surprise me—it’s still summer, during which I’ll always feel twelve, no matter how old I actually am on the outside.