Tuesday, Jun. 01, 2010
Summertime around Blue Springs
John Beaudoin, Journal Publisher
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I think everyone should get a summer break.
In fact, I considered the teaching profession at one point – in between college hopping and newspaper jobs – just so I could get those three months off.
As a kid, summer was simply the most magnificent time there was.
Up at dawn on those hot days when it was already 90 degrees by 8 a.m., my neighborhood friends and I would make the most of every summer day.
We’d spend ours upon hours of baseball (played with whatever bats we could find and a tennis ball), hide and seek, hotbox and numerous other games.
Sure there were video games back then, but they only kept our attention for so long. Playing football on Atari or Pick Axe Pete on Odyssey was nothing compared to the sheer joy we got from climbing a tree, making a homemade ramp to jump our bikes over or just general nonsense around the cul-de-sac.
Since I don’t have any kids yet (16 or so weeks and counting until the new arrival), I am left to wonder what it is exactly that the youngsters do during the summer these days.
The newspaper doesn’t take a break over the summer, so, I am left to long for those days when being outside was the greatest thing in the world.
I could practically time out the summer to the day based on when the lightning bugs made their appearance and when the first cicadas would start their familiar roar in the trees each night around dusk.
Do kids still roam the yards and streets during the summer? I suppose so. I know some kids cannot tear themselves away from the computer games long enough to enjoy the outdoors, but I have to still believe that most kids want to be outside during the summer. Of course, some families schedule the summer vacation or other activities during this time. Still, the summer is long enough for any kid to enjoy, I hope.
And while kids will certainly always find something to entertain themselves over the summer, the adults need a little fun as well.
Each Sunday at Rotary Park, the Blue Springs Parks and Recreation Department throws a free summer concert from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
You will not want to miss the Aug. 15 show when nationally renowned blues band Trampled Under Foot comes to jam at the park.
I have seen this band more than a dozen times and they are phenomenal.
Between the Parks and Recreation, Sports City, Lunar Bowl and others, finding something to do this summer in Blue Springs will prove a pretty easy task.
And, if you’re that bored, grab a few friends and play hide and seek. The neighbors won’t stare too much and it just might remind you of how great summer can be.
John Beaudoin is publisher of the Blue Springs Journal. To respond to today’s commentary, call 816-282-7001 or e-mail jbeaudoin@bluespringsjournal.com.
