“…When the light of each summer's day reaches its end…” In 1968 Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubcek was elected as the first secretary of the country’s Communist Party over the Stalinist Antonin Novotny, a victory that marked a brief period of liberalization and reform known as the Prague Spring. But the so-called Prague Spring would be brief, as Soviet armed forces invaded and occupied Czechoslovakia in August, reinstituting hardline Communist rule, and Dubcek was deposed the following April.
“…I’ll sit by the fire with all my new friends…” In 1968, there was a Camp called Emma Farm. It was located in a town called Harmony. I was a Senior Counselor, readying for my next step in life to become a teacher or a social worker. But from the beginning of June until Labor Day, while I was working at Emma Farm Resident Camp, I would be as magical, mysterious, inventive, inspirational, and ALIVE as possible. And the POSSIBILITIES to learn, linger, and live, were there for the asking and then the taking. Harmony was located close to another town called Freedom; and in the summer of 1968, as a 19-year-old, all I had to do was inhale the freedoms and harmony, that life in America offered.
“…A million tomorrows will never erase…” There was a Ballfield, an active place during the day, a gathering place for Mass Programs, Color Wars, it was the hub of the camp, but after camper curfew, the allure of the seemingly open space was a great place for summer romances to take root, blossom and at times evolve into let’s just be friends, or oops I forgot to mention I have a girlfriend or boyfriend at home. The Ballfield, late at night, those spooky early morning hours when either aliens from space could arrive, or creatures of the night might appear, led to some introspective moments when one might wonder about how BIG we were in the universe, or exactly how SMALL we might be. If it was not romance on the blades of grass, or smoking some blades of grass, conversations about life emerged as did the distant stars always shining in the sky, but never seen due to, too much light and noise all around us.
“…The fun and the joy of our summer place…” In 1968, the news was not around 24/7, and truly any outside communication was not relevant. We were isolated from the wear and tear of the world, at least for the summer, knowing that for the moments at Emma Farm, all seemed safe. But then the news came that the Russians were going to invade Czechoslovakia, and rumor began to spread that this would be the beginning of a Third World War. And I remember that night, sitting on the wet dew strewn carpet of grass, with a friend who told me she and I would remain spiritual lovers for eternity, even as the world might end. The Russians invaded Czechoslovakia, the final sessions of camp ended, there was no war…but for me, it seemed the end of total innocence, the demise of hoping that the adults of the world would actually BEHAVE. Last night, January 8, 2022, the stars, in the Massachusetts sky glittered and danced as they did when I was in Harmony, and I looked up wanting to find a sense of peace and security, but a pit began to murmur and run amuck in my gut, and my mind raced as it did back in 1968, worrying and wondering, is this another beginning of the end?
