My parents were divorced before I reached the first grade. Then my mom remarried and moved to Kansas. And my dad remarried and moved to Texas. My brother and I would go to school for nine months in Texas. And then we’d spend our summer vacations in Kansas. So our friends, in Texas, never saw us during the summer. And our friends, in Kansas, never saw us during the winter. Years after I graduated high school I recalled a girlfriend I’d had during that time. And I put the thoughts into a sentimental sounding song called “I Never Knew You In Summer”.
After all the time I spent on dates, going to the prom, and attending school functions, I realized I didn’t know anything about my friends’ summer habits. For some reason, on a hot summer day in the late 70’s it dawned on me in a slightly befuddling way.
I don’t ever remember being angry about leaving friends in one state to go see others in another state. And I never got angry with my parents for the arrangement. There were some inconveniences…like no involvement in team sports. Because we weren’t there for summer practice. But there were also advantages. I got to travel for 18 hours on a very cool train twice a year. And I lived both a suburban and a rural life.
So…you won’t find any bitter prose or poetry about my childhood anywhere in any of my many notebooks. However, you might just happen upon an occasional melancholy meandering in a lyrical la-la land. And I make no apologies or excuses for those. After all I got a lot of songs in my head, like…
I Never Knew You In Summer
In fact, I savor those sentiments because they hearken back to my exuberant youth. Because they fly me back to my years of wide-eyed wonder. And I hover above the younger me like the ghost of Christmas future watching myself pen the words on brand new pads of paper.
If you’re one of those people I went to school with in Texas…and if you remember how I was…and if you can remember me and smile…this is for you…
In Faith, Hope, and Love”
