Summer sensory flashbacks

Kim Kovach

On walks through the neighborhood, I am aware of the sights and sounds around me.

I do not talk on the phone or stare down and scroll while I am walking. I look at the blue sky, the brilliant yellow sun, the leafy trees, the changing flora and fauna. I walk with purpose.

On Monday, I noticed a lovely cluster of tall orange daylilies in bloom. Daylilies always remind me of summer. Orange daylilies decorate the sides of country roads from here to New England. When I see orange daylilies in bloom, I think about my friend, Ellen, and those fun times spent with our summer house friends in Great Barrington hiking, playing tennis, horseback riding, and paddleboating in the 1980s.

I am also reminded of the first summer I moved into the house near Lake Kitchawan in 1995. The property contained many flowering trees and shrubs, including a row of orange daylilies planted along the side of the house.

The small house did not have air conditioning so I usually kept the windows open. One night, just before falling asleep, I heard the sounds of footsteps running and then stopping near the side bedroom window. I sat up and was perplexed to hear the sounds of someone chewing. Why would a burglar stop to take a snack break outside of my open bedroom window in the middle of the night? The sounds of chewing and chomping continued right under my window. I grabbed my eyeglasses and tip-toed over to the side window. I pulled up the window shade, which startled a large deer who raised its head with an orange daylily in its mouth and then scampered off into the woods!

On Tuesday, I was on my way to mail a few bills at the shopping center and strolled past the open door of a nail salon. The sudden whiff of a strong chemical smell – nail polish – brought back a memory from years ago. It was a summer Friday at work and the boss had left early for the day. That afternoon, co-workers made personal phone calls, went on a snack run for iced coffee and donuts, and generally enjoyed some welcome down time. As I tapped away at the computer keys on that particular afternoon, I caught a whiff of a distinct chemical smell – nail polish? I exited my office to investigate. Around the corner, I spotted my friend, Deb, with her bare feet propped up on her desk giving her tootsies a fresh coat of pink polish! That was certainly an unexpected example of the phrase, “When the cat’s away the mice will play!”

Driving in my car on the way home from grocery shopping yesterday, I heard the opening percussion of one of my favorite songs from the 1980s, “Shout,” by Tears for Fears. I turned up the volume and started singing along loudly, remembering the enjoyment of shopping for vinyl albums on my lunch break years ago at the record store on Lexington Avenue.

As I continued driving, I noticed a farm stand sign offering tomatoes and vegetables. I flashed back to my gardening days when the summer bounty of tomatoes, zucchini and green beans encouraged my creativity. One summer I invented a recipe for tomato spice cake. This aromatic snack cake was perfect for breakfast with a cup of coffee or as an afternoon treat. No one could tell that the cake contained pieces of tomato. It was moist and tasty with a hint of cinnamon. Yum!

Kim Kovach likes to be “present” at all times with her creative radar turned on! Please visit her at kimkovachwrites.com.