Summer in Erie...

is way different than winter (Thanks, Captain Obvious).

Scenes from last night:

• A mid-afternoon thunderstorm
• that when it lifts, leaves a hazy humidity that makes that first beer go down so quickly.
• That beer is drank during a lazy bocce game in a league that I play in where everyone else is drinking and people are having cigarettes "to keep the bugs away."
• A puddle in the batter's box that makes our Little League game unplayable, 
• forcing us to reschedule for another night when rain will also likely make it unplayable.
• A hopeful backlog of make-up games that will clearly never be able to be completed,
• compounded by a shooting death of a boy who is related to one of the coaches in our league (very sad).
• Driving my son across town to his practice for another team he plays on, when realizing on the way that I can now play in the bocce match I thought I'd miss, because I don't have to coach the practice.
• My wife grumbling as she drops me off at bocce, thinking we were going to have beers on a patio or walk on the beach while my son practiced.
• Her heading out for ice cream with her sister and my son after practice,
• while I pick up my daughter and head up to my bocce teammate's house for a dip in his pool following our match - celebrating our first win of the season!
• First saying hi to the neighbors who are sitting in a driveway drinking and playing with kids.
• Diving under the water for a refreshing swim and taking a swig of my beer after I come up.
• Sitting around a fire after our swim telling stories and roasting hot dogs.
• Realizing it's 11:30 and we all need to get up the next morning!