Growing up in Pittsburgh, when Memorial Day approached, all of the kids on our street realized that SUMMER TIME, was almost around the corner and that finally and forever, until perhaps the middle of September, there would not be any more snowfall. Humidity immediately smothered our street, and our older relatives complained that SCHVITZ weather was here, and seemed to forget that with a Pittsburgh winter, they had once dreamed of “when will it finally be summer?”
The sweet smell of charcoals, the sickeningly sweet smell of lighter fluid, the cautionary lectures about not too much lighter fluid, don’t stand so close you could burn off your nose, the shared stories of kids who actually placed too much lighter fluid and DID have their faces blown off, buzzed around our row of houses, almost as incessant as the somehow newly hatched mosquitos, which mysteriously JUST appeared on Memorial Day!!!!! BUT, FINALLY, it was Memorial Day weekend, with longer days, shorts taken out of storage, trips to Father and Son Shoe Store to buy the one-inch rubber-coated Tennis Shoes (Yes, in Pittsburgh, they were called Tennis Shoes), and for our family, the official visit to Jerry and Son Barbershop, for my summer crew cut, and my little sisters, mop cut.
We knew it was Memorial Day Weekend because Saturday was the day we replaced the Winter Storm Windows with Screens, any and all pieces of clothing that provided warmth were placed in plastic bags, sweaters put in the Cedar Chest, and the Blankets for winter warmth folded and placed on the scary shelves in the recess of our basement. My mother would remind us that we should not complain about these chores because they all were leading up to SUMMER VACATION!
Sunday of Memorial Day was dress rehearsal day for the summer vacation approaches. We all reminded one another of the past summer games and if any new rules had suddenly been issued from tag, to catch, to hide and seek, to races, to how to bat a ball. The older kids always took on those responsibilities, leaving their younger siblings confused because new rules and regulations were imposed every summer. Our parents used Saturday evening after our picnic dinners, to show off their newest Lawn Furniture purchased from Hills Department Store or for a better price point K-Mart. Our mothers would set up their Lawn Chairs in the front of our house, my mother supplying freshly squeezed lemon aid, and her sampling of SUMMER COOKIES. (Summer cookies always had icing and some kind of fruit). And for the Buncher Family, Sunday night of Memorial Day Weekend, we went to the Silver Lake Drive-In on Washington Blvd. We had a cousin who managed the Silver Lake, we called him Uncle Charlie, and starting with Sunday, he provided us with passes good for the entire summer. (Our neighbors envied us!).
Memories, some of which may be exact, some almost true, all so wonderful to hold on to! Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
