The dog days of summer (vacation)

For most Boulder City kids, summer vacation is quickly coming to an end as classes are set to begin the second week of August.

When I was a kid growing up down in Cottonwood Cove (my dad was a park ranger) or here in Boulder City beginning in the seventh grade, early August still meant we had nearly a month’s worth of vacation left.

Back then, as most of you remember, summer vacation began the first part of June and ended the day after Labor Day. It was great starting school with a four-day week.

Despite the heat, or dog days of summer, as kids you never truly noticed it. Recently I posted on my personal Facebook page an invitation for everyone to come to my house and run through the sprinklers. Needless to say, I got quite a few RSVPs. Not only because it’s a quick way to cool off during triple-digit temperatures, but because it’s a memory most can enjoy looking back on.

Back then, we didn’t know the importance of getting out of the sun, sunscreen or for that matter, staying hydrated. As a kid, a quick drink of water from the garden hose cured that.

Nothing better than warm, rubbery-flavored water. If that could be bottled and sold today, I’m sure that would be a hit among those of my generation.

I also remember riding bikes with friends in summertime. We’d often ride up to Thrifty, which was located where Dollar Tree is now. I sound very old when I say that back then you could get one scoop for just 15 cents, a double for $.30 and triple for $.45. Now, if I had enough change, of course I’d go for the triple but that much ice cream, the blazing sun, while riding a bike was not a good combination. With one hand you were trying to steer and in the other hold the cone as ice cream dripped down your arm. But it was worth it.

In those days, our curfew was dinner time. And after dinner the curfew was when the street lights came on. This was long before cell phones, so between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., kids would have been anywhere their bikes or legs could take them.

And then when old enough to drive, cruising in Boulder City was the thing… the only thing… to do. You’d drive the loop, making the required stop at Arnie’s Arco for a 26-cent fountain drink. Now that I think about it, that was a normal Saturday night regardless of the time of year.

Kids nowadays are doing their back-to-school shopping with their parents right about now. I remember this as a day-long event, especially as my younger brother and sister also got into school. Two of the stops we’d make were Mervyn’s and Miller’s Outpost. Both were conveniently located in the same complex on Maryland Parkway. Miller’s Outpost was where I got a lot of my clothes since stuff there was geared toward teens. After all, they were the go-to stop for shrink-to-fit Levi’s 501 jeans.

As far as shopping goes, and I may have mentioned it before, but the fear of many kids growing up in the 70s and 80s, was shopping at Kmart. Worse yet, being seen shopping at Kmart by someone you may know. What our growing minds never took into account was that if someone saw you there, it meant that they, too, were shopping for clothes. These days, I miss shopping at Kmart. Go figure.

FYI, I’m about to do a voiceover like on the show “The Wonder Years.”

In some ways I envy today’s youth with all the technology at their disposal. But at the same time, I feel kind of sorry that most don’t get to experience the simple things that still bring a smile to my face from a bygone era when a bike, good friends, a few cents in your pocket and warm, rubbery hose water was all you needed to create summertime memories. (End of voiceover)