school
letting out
in june
meant
long rides
along the coast
{30 minutes
is eternity
when you
are little}
to
redondo beach.
up the coast
we drove
with the windows
open
in our
junky yellow
station wagon.
how i loved
to stick
my feet out
the window
{when my mom
wasn't looking}
and feel
the wind's
cool
pressure
on my feet
like a kite
in the wind.
on the way
home
back down
the coast
as the sun
slowly sank
we'd stop
at
the japanese lady
who sold
strawberries
and other such
things
in a
large white
shack
on the coastal
cliffs
above the sea.
my mom would
come back
to the car
with newspaper-
wrapped
flowers,
green beans,
salad greens,
and
small
wooden containers
with green-tipped
edges
filled
with tiny
strawberries.
i'd eat
the berries
and throw
the green
berry tops
out the windows
at the ocean
as we hurried
home for dinner.
those berries
tasted
like the ocean
and the
sweetness
of
summer
beginning.
a taste
i have
never
been able
to find
again.
13 comments:
It did not feel like summer at all until I read this. I could actually feel the wind blowing between my toes, and taste the fresh strawberries. You are a wonderful writer, and I love your photos! Oh, and something that reminds me of my childhood summers- climbing the giant oak tree at the neighborhood park and reading all of the engraved initials (Though I never engraved my own, for fear of hurting the tree).
What great images! I wish I had clearer memories of childhood (though this post reminds me of the time I got hives from eating too many strawberries).
you have to find the japanese lady again :)
great story and pics to go w/
xo
The stories you tell - both with words and with photos - are so beautiful. Thank you for sharing them!
I remember those strawberries. Damn, those were good. And like you, I have never again tasted anything like them. All strawberries since then have been ruined for me because of the japanese lady. I think her name was Annie.
Even though we're all older, i still love the idea of school letting out...and these nostalgic pictures were the perfect compliment to your poem. LOVE THEM!
What a beautiful memory. I can almost taste those strawberries after your wonderful description. I agree with Lisa, you'll have to go on a pilgrimage for the Japanese lady and her strawberries. xo lj
I remember too....So red and sweet...absolutely sweet: none of that sour note that all the store bought ones have...almost wild in flavor...And I loved the blood red color of the stains from the juice leeking onto the starched white butcher paper she'd wrap those little boxes in....I'd frame a piece of that stained paper if I had it now....
Beautiful, words and polaroids both.
hugs, g xx
oh this memory - BEAUTIFUL
i feel like I was with you.
and those polaroids - beautiful...!!!!
oxox
you are so lovely. :)
Beautiful stories with perfect illustrations :) xx
So many good memories. :)
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