"Hot Fun in the Summertime..."

   

   

It’s Memorial Day weekend and for many people, it means the start of the summer boating season. It’s been quite a while, but for years, it was the beginning of the best part of the year for me.

   Lake Cumberland, Kentucky is about five hours south of Cincinnati, but it became the center of my summer life when my husband and I first started dating.  He and a friend shared ownership of a speedboat named “GoldiLox” (so named for the bagel-loving Jewish owners). We’d make the trek every other weekend and spend three glorious days waterskiing, swimming and of course, eating!

   Days were spent driving the boat around the massive lake with miles and miles of smooth skiing water. We’d head out early in the day soaking up the sun until late afternoon. After hours of multiple ski runs and swimming in the lake, we’d clean up and head across the lake at dusk to feed the voracious appetites we’d worked up during the day.

   A gin and tonic in one hand and the wind from the speed of the boat blowing our hair and sunburned faces, we’d head across the massive lake to Grider Hill Lodge. Not a Four Seasons resort or fancy marina, Grider’s rustic dock and log cabin lodge might have been overlooked by a less discerning palate, but we knew what was waiting up the hill.

   With all the calories burned that day water-skiing, we were ready for a meal to replenish us . Grieder’s restaurant was known for its’ pan fried chicken and peanut butter pie and they more than lived up to the hype.

  Before the days of eating clean and low-fat, low-carb foods, the meal began with baskets of dollar rolls and real butter. A salad came next; mostly iceberg & tomatoes, dripping with creamy dressing. But the piece de resistance was the fried chicken. Lightly coated and pan fried (no doubt in lard), the magic spices couldn’t be duplicated. Add the mashed potatoes, buttered corn and green beans (something healthy) served family style, and we were in food heaven.

   We’d gorge ourselves to the point of “almost full” because it was almost time for pie. The choice was always difficult. They were known for the peanut butter pie, but often they had banana and chocolate cream as well. As good as those pies were, they were always a disappointment compared to the peanut butter pie. Fluffy and creamy at the same time with an enormous meringue top, the peanut butter pie was always cut into “Grandma”-sized slices.

   Always too full to move right away, we’d sit and talk with the lodge owners and staff for hours until they closed. It became a sort of summer family and we visited often. As time went by, we moved away from the area and sold the boat. But years later, we went back to Lake Cumberland for a family trip with our children, and of course, took them to Grider. Their menu still includes the Cumberland Skillet Fried Chicken and Laura Ann's Famous Mile High Peanut Butter Pie.

   It was delicious, of course, but I think what it stood for was more important . The tastes, the smells, and even the pictures on the wall brought us back to a carefree, easy summer life: even at a time when we were dealing with all of the stresses of careers and parenthood.

   And, from my first bite of fried chicken to the last morsel of pie, work deadlines, carpools, homework, and “mom” stress magically disappeared.

"After School Special..."

 

 Though the world might be a much different place than it was when I was a teenager, teenaged girls haven’t changed that much. 

Walk into any Starbuck’s right after school lets out and you’ll see what I mean. A true “gaggle” of young women spill into the place and hijack a group of tables with their backpacks and laptops. Standing in line to order their lattes, caramel macciatos, and chai teas, they loudly review the events of the day between high- pitched giggles and “OMG” screams.

Their clothes might be different, but that could have been my group of friends after school, taking over the neighborhood Howard Johnson’s; HoJo’s to those in the know.

I know I sound like your Grandpa when I say this, but when I was growing up, if we lived within two miles of the school, we walked. Sometimes our moms would pick us up for a dentist appointment, or we might be lucky enough to know a high-schooler who drove, but otherwise, it was on foot.

It might have been tiring, but that walk home was sometimes the best part of our day; made even better by our after school “snack” sessions at the home of 28 flavors.

Just like the Starbuck’s teens, we’d pile into HoJo’s and nine or ten of us would take over the round booth meant for 5 people. Crowded into the circle, we’d order sodas, French fries, sundaes, fried clams, hot dogs, and bowls of ice cream; our conversation at least five decibels above the other diners’ talk.

The hostess at the restaurant was a Spanish woman named Hazel with a thick accent and a tough demeanor. I know she cringed every time she saw us all walk in, but she greeted us, seated us, and shot a strong glare our way every time we got out of hand.

Nothing terrible; but between laughing and climbing over the seats to look at a note someone had written (long before texting) or reaching across the table to take a bite of someone’s food, we made a lot of noise and a big mess.

Whether it was my best friend Nadine’s burgundy cherry ice cream soda, or my clams and tartar sauce, we always left the table looking like a battleground.

Though Hazel would have loved to kick us out and ban us from the place permanently, she also would see us there with our families on the weekends, so she yelled at us, but no major punishments.

And I remember seeing the “older” girls there and thinking they were so lucky because they were all starting to get their licenses and they could actually drive there. With their teased and perfectly flipped hair and gold initial circle pins, we could only hope we’d be that cool one day.

Each new generation always seems to have their place. From HoJos to McDs, from Panera to Starbucks, one thing you can bet on is an after school invasion of loud voices and big appetities. I mean even the kids on Happy Days had Arnold’s.