In the Summertime...

I like the summer. Summer’s like—it's hot. Sometimes you go to the beach. And you go on vacation; sometimes cruises as well. And, it’s hot like Fourth of July. You do that kinda stuff. 

In the summertime you can go to the beach. Sit out there and get a little sun tan. The sun gives you vitamins. But, you don’t wanna get too much sun ‘cause the sun’s too dangerous. I put on sunscreen to stay safe. Sometimes you sit under the umbrella if you don’t wanna get too hot from the sun. Or a tent to relax. 

We sometimes have lunch out there—a picnic; other times we bring snacks. Just sit out there and enjoy the beach weather. Yeah, I do go in the water. Sometimes I sit in the chair at the edge of the water to look out at it and enjoy the sunshine. I put my toes in the sand and the water. Sometimes I try to build sandcastles in the sand. On the sand, I find many different shells—sand dollars and sometimes starfish—and crabs too! I watch the birds—the flocks of seagulls—flying in the sky too. 

Not only do I sit in the sun and sand, but I also like to walk back and forth from the chairs toward the lighthouse. 

We normally go to Folly. But I have been to other beaches too: Lion’s Beach and Kiawah, Cape Hatteras, the Keys in Florida—but they have lighter colored water down there and we have darker colored water here. 

I’ve been to the Keys so many times I’ve lost track. Sometimes we drive down there but we sometimes go there on cruises. It’s a long trip so we go halfway (like Orlando) and then continue on down (the FL coast). And, we do the same thing on the way back. 

Summer time we have hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill. We also have corn, beans, potato chips or potato salad. We drink sodas in the summer too with ice because it’s hot—in restaurants I don’t get ice because it’s already cold. And, sometimes we have picnics. It’s not always at the beach. We also go sit at the park downtown—sometimes it’s Waterfront, sometimes the Battery, sometimes Brittlebank—to eat, watch people having fun, look at the birds, but I love looking at the water. 

On the Fourth of July we cookout in the afternoon and then in the evening we get to watch fireworks. There are a lot of different shows for fireworks. But I think it would be here. Down by the water it’s nice to see the fireworks. My friend, Mike Christy, likes to set them off. I like seeing them here in town. But sometimes we get to see them in Florida when we’re on vacation at Universal and Disney (Epcot) 

As a kid, I’d love playing outside in the sunshine. I started out doing tricycle and then a little biking in the summer. But now I don’t really do that anymore. I know I’ve told you before, but I like to swim. The sun makes me wanna run around and play and get exercise. 

Summer, in 3 words... it’s: humid, beautiful, happy. It makes me feel warm inside; I love sitting in the sunshine. The sun makes me feel happy like I want to have fun in the sun.       

If you’re looking forward to the Summer, you’re not alone. Get out there in the sun. Drink a lot of water, especially when it gets too hot. Find some shade if there’s too much sun. I wear a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen; oh, and sandals, cause the sun gets very hot and you don’t want to burn your feet, but you don’t wanna wear socks and shoes to the beach. And that’s all I can think of.  

Have fun in the sun, but don’t get too hot. Cause the sun’s fun but can be a little bit dangerous!   

~ John Joyner