For some reason, I haven’t listened to my Summer Playlist nearly as often as in past summers. I suppose not having a five-hour train ride has served as a reduction in listening opportunities.

Whatever the reason, the weather has not been a factor. If anything, I should be listening to it more often than when I was up in New York. After all, it’s always summer down in Florida. Well, that’s not entirely true.

We just don’t have the same seasons as the rest of the country.

We have, FREAKING HOT, HOT, Balmy In The 80’s, and A Hint Of Fifty.

Unlike their northern counterparts, Florida seasons are not equally apportioned throughout the year. Freaking Hot, for example, extends from May through September.

Ok, enough of the weather lament. Back to my Summer playlist.

I do, in fact, have The Girl From Ipanema (I was surprised to learn it wasn’t IMPANEMA), as well as other summer songs from my childhood.

Summertime, by the Jamies.

See You In September, by the Happenings.

I also have quite a few from the late ’60’s and early ’70’s.

Suffice it to say that each entry carries its own memory baggage. Surprisingly, only Summer In The City brings to mind sweltering  New York City weather. The others merely evoke the great feeling of being off from school or working in the mailroom.

Carefree days when you were able to forget assassinations and war and poverty. I was a kid, and I was off from school and thinking seriously ended on the last day of school.

While I have not been listening to my playlist as often as I used to ( truth be told I have it on as I type) I did read a few books from summers past.

Fahrenheit 451, The Illustrated Man, and Future Shock. Actually, I am reading that now. I wanted to see just how prescient Alvin Toffler was about how our lives would change.

I find it easier to write about this kind of things than current events. The music makes me happy, and the books bring back sitting on an un-airconditioned IRT 6 train on my way to work. I can almost feel the sweat dripping into my eyes as I read.

So, as we enter the last few weeks of summer, I hope your summertime memories, old and those currently under construction, keep you cool.

Stay cool gabagool.