June Gloom? No. A Few Really Good Things!

Or, Keds

* June. Early morning. Not a cloud anywhere.

Junes gone by. Saturday morning. Brand new white canvas US Keds at the bottom of my bed, maybe PF Flyers, depending on the year.  The end of the long school year in sight. I'd turn off the big radio on the table above my head, hot from the vacuum tubes being left on all night, since I'd listened to the Giants' game and then short wave. I'd  throw back my Navajo blanket, leap up, landing perfectly in my new sneakers (in my dream/memory) and had them tied before you could say Snap, Crackle, and Pop!

Is there anything better than a clear sunny June morning? True love, you say? What's true love without June!

* The talking heads and remaining newspapers have many of us all aflutter about the Euro and Sunday's vote in Greece, the cradle of democracy. Maybe we should make that sanitarium of democracy. Poor Greeks: what a choice. Rule by dreary economists and clubby bankers or new friends waiting in the wings, Raz-Putin's Russia and Iran, pocketbooks and oil in hand. 

Perfect

Left with that choice, I'll take June!

* With all the ruckus about all the things that have gone bad in our world, let's take time to point out some things that are just as good or better than ever. Not kidding.

1. Cars. Yes, Detroit had three and a half flats and Toyota had the yips. But, remember those clunkers your parents had back when you wore those canvas sneakers? Having a tire (tyre for some of you) puncture every vacation trip. Fan belts always breaking. Embarrassing overheated radiators in traffic! Even a modestly priced vehicle today, especially a modestly priced one,  goes 100,000 miles with few problems. My '97 Jeep (knock on wood), owned by Chrysler at the time (Chrysler!), is still a gem. Be thankful.

2. Weber Grills. My newish kettle was a present from a friend. Yes, we know about gas grills. Yes we've had a hibachi phase. The Weber kettle is affordable and perfect. Steve Jobs could have made it.

I use a mix of lump hardwood charcoal, preferably imported from Argentina/Uruguay, and regular briquets. Get your napkins. http://www.wickedgoodcharcoal.com/

3. Local Food/Grocery Stores. Your great-grandparents may have had produce this good, because they lived near a farm, but just about anyone can walk to a superior market these days. As we speak, there's a Farmer's Market just down the hill. Variety, freshness, organics, even the cereal packaging is getting smarter/greener. Three brands of non-fat of Greek yogurt, everywhere! Grass-fed rib-eyes. Lobster at five bucks a pound. Local Truck-food: Tandoori take-away, Dave's Dogs, a creperie. Smile.

Get the chutney.

* In the interest of fairness, let's remember a few things that have been adequately replaced, but are missed:

Camper

1. Typewriters. They have been making a comeback recently and eBay is filled with bids for Olivettis, Hermeses, Underwoods (we have our own Remington Noiseless). Using MS Word or Apple Pages is convenient, but the best thing about typing is...you don't need a stinky printer! The page and carbon copies are right (write?) there in your hand, white-out and all.

2. Transistor Radios: Ipods/iphones? Sure thing. I sometimes listen to Giants games on the MLB app. But, more often, I take my LL Bean Eton transistor radio to the beach, where I listen without headphones. 1959 all over again. Actually, better. Giants are better too, but no Mays, McCovey, Marichal.

* June. Camp soon. No parents. Letters, in the real mail. Maybe. Come, take me home. No, don't.