Summertime memories

Riding my bike to "the silver gate" and back. Coasting down the big hill and struggling to make it back up that same hill on the way home.

Riding to grandma's house. Helping granddad gather the eggs. Playing with the baby chicks. Plucking chickens. Picking cherries off the cherry tree then pitting them in grandma's kitchen.

Wheat turning from green to gold. Waiting for harvest. Going with mom to take dad his four o'clock snack in the field. Playing in the wheat truck in a mountain of wheat. Going to my aunt and uncles for their harvest.

Dad burning the fields after harvest. Dad and my brother coming home black with smoke and soot.

Sweltering Oklahoma heat and how wonderful it felt to come inside an air conditioned house after playing outside.

Sweltering in my bedroom at night with just a fan. No air conditioning upstairs (or heat in the winter).

Endless summer days when I could just be a kid. Perfection.