Finneran: Glorious June
Friday, June 30, 2017
Tom Finneran, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER™
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| Fenway Park |
It’s hard to say goodbye, harder still when you’re saying goodbye to an old friend.
We’re about to tuck the month of June to bed. She’s an old favorite of mine.
Think of what June brings---long days, nice nights, lots of sunshine, plenty of golf, and lazy days at the beach. The memories of the most miserable months---January, February, and March---are all but erased. The teasers of April and May have given way to the joys of June.
School is out. Traffic is lighter. Kids are at play. The ocean warms and swimmers no longer have to pretend that they’re insulated like polar bears. Stripers and bluefish are back. Clamming can be done in a bathing suit. And of course sweet fried clams lay frequent claim to our attention.
Those early sunrises and late sunsets are treasures. Note on the horizon where that sun now rises. Note too where it now sets. Come November, December, and January those impressive Northerly points will be eclipsed by the low winter sun’s dance with the South. We can cherish the memories even as the autumn and winter chills cut through our clothes. And God’s seasonal cycles give us confidence that all will be well once again. Our patience with cold, with darkness, with blizzards, with the bread and milk runs to the grocery store, will be rewarded. It all happens in June. The slate is wiped clean.
Some June highlights----
RED SOX GAMES AT FENWAY: I’m almost completely indifferent to the opponent. It’s the pleasure of spending conversational time with friends while in shirtsleeves. None of that April hoodie stuff or that October parka nonsense. I want to watch baseball in short sleeves with no mention of wind chills or having to wear multiple layers.
STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE: June is a huge month for strawberries. Fresh, juicy, sweet, heaven-sent strawberries with real crumbly shortcake biscuits and real whipped cream. No angel cake and no imitation whip. Real cream with real sugar equals real paradise. Awesome.
A LONG SWIM AND A NICE NAP: Is there anything better than a long swim in calm comfortable salt water? Yes, there is. It’s a long swim in that water followed by a delightful nap on the warm sands of summer. It’s fun exercise followed by a no-guilt nap. Such activities and events undoubtedly occur in heaven. Here too, come June.
THE GARDEN: The early season beauties---forsythia, daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, magnolias, flowering crab trees, azaleas, rhododendrons---give way to June. Enter dogwood, lilies, roses, hydrangeas, and lavender. The honey bees are now very active, their industry even more impressive than an automobile assembly line. The home gardeners now see green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, and cukes taking shape. It’s a bit early for harvest but the gardener’s pride is evident and the appetites are whetted.
COOKOUTS: Burgers and hot dogs. Fresh striper from the grill. Steak tips. Sweet peppers. Crabcakes. Scallops. Corn on the cob. Blueberry cobbler. A vodka gimlet, shaken not stirred. Who needs five-star restaurants with ten-star prices? A quick trip to the farmer’s market, the fish store, and the grocery store gives you all the good stuff and helps eclipse all the pretensions of the restaurant scene.
June, glorious June. It’s a fabulous month and I hate to see it end...........she’ll be in my dreams.
Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio.
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PHOTO: Krista Guenin/Flickr Commons
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PHOTO: Southwick Zoo website
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PHOTO: kingkongphoto/Wikipedia
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PHOTO: Maine Windjammer Association
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PHOTO: PVDFest
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PHOTO: Newport Folk Festival
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PHOTO: Cape Playhouse website
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PHOTO: Worcester World Cup event page
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PHOTO: Newport Jazz Festival
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PHOTO: Adam Elmakias/Wikipedia
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PHOTO: Vermont Summer Festival website
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Tom Finneran is the former Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, served as the head the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, and was a longstanding radio voice in Boston radio.
