Let Summer Begin

We kicked off summer in our town last night with the annual Dale and the Duds concert on our Town Common. We aren’t sure exactly how long we’ve been ushering in summer with them but Dale and I figure it’s been around 40 years and that’s a pretty big deal.

It was fun to sit with friends and listen to the music. To reminisce about when our kids were little and it was so hard to keep an eye on them. To remember the years when we kept them close by and then the changes that inevitably came as they got older and started hanging with their friends instead of sitting with us. I started attending this event years before Dale and I were together and I still remember June of 1993 when I brought Hannah, who was not quite 1 yet, over and placed her in Dale’s mother’s lap to introduce them. I certainly never imagined that one day she would become Hannah’s grandmother and it’s a really sweet memory. It tugs at my heart strings to see Hannah come to this concert now, to watch her visit with friends and neighbors, and to feel proud of the woman she has become.

Our grandson Jackie was there with Jessica, of course, and now that he’s 7 he completely ignores us. I did get a wave from him as I was leaving, but gone are the days when he would sit in my lap to listen to his grampa sing.

The circle of life and all that sure is comical when you get right down to it.

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Comments (8)

  1. You’ve got lots of memories rolled up in the Dale and the Duds summer kickoff concert – all of them sweet!

  2. You are so right, Carole. The circle of life is tragic, comical, and bittersweet. Your distance from judgment about it is very healthy. I think 40 years is an incredible accomplishment for Dale and the Duds. My congratulations to Dale.

  3. What a great kick-off to the Summer and yes! Congratulations to Dale for 40 years of ushering in Summer in your town. Awesome. Iris went to her first concert last night in the local park by Colin & Mailing’s!!

  4. What great memories! I’m sorry to hear that Jackie is already ignoring you — I thought that didn’t start for several years yet!

  6. I feel like forty years of being invited backsuggests “The Duds” might need to upgrade their name. But a little of the memories and summer magic might disappear. So, maybe not.

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