When we were kids, summer seemed to stretch on forever. I’d get a buzzcut from my father in late June, kick off my shoes, and head for the lake. We had television, courtesy of an antenna in a big oak tree. We are on a hill in north central Massachusetts, so TV reception was good. We’d get stations from Boston, Manchester, Hartford, and, if the wind was right, Albany, New York.
That went on for many a year. When it came time for Internet access, we had to improvise. We had a gadget that connected to the ‘net by way of a weak cellular connection. (Again, the condition of the atmosphere had a lot to do with the quality of signal.)
We now have Internet via Comcast. The connection is good because we’re the only regular users on the line. As a result, I can and do work from my lake home from May until the weather gets cold again.
We venture into town a few times a week. The traffic is always a bit of a shock. Most of the time, I can travel from one end of Phillipston and pass five or fewer cars. Many times, the road is my own.
I no longer get the buzzcut, but my shoes are off. My best this summer has been four days without shoes. One year, I went a whole week. Life is good.