5 Writers on the Summers They Will Never Forget

I know for me, my summer was one of constant motion. To start of with, I left my job to begin the summer. I know, it seems like a weird thing to do. Usually, this is when all the kids sprint to make all the money they can in their free time. But this will all make sense later in the story. Then, my family and me went on a week-long cruise to some islands. It was beautiful. We saw islands such as San Juan, Labadie, and a couple other places too. I think the best two things on the ship was the basketball court and all the delicious food I could eat! But what really took up a big part of my summer was that I moved across the country. I moved from the Midwest all the way to Rhode Island. It took months of planning on my mom's part to make sure everything went smoothly and no items were left behind. The over twelve hour car ride was enough to know that this move was going to be a massive change on my life. I would have to be the new kid all over again. And for my senior year no less too! It's a bad feeling of not knowing anyone and having to restart all over again. But I know in time, it'll all make sense and I'll find my place at my new school

What a brilliant illustration!! But who is the artist?? Do a better job with crediting, NYT!!

Karen Russell’s fantastic essay on biking adventures as a 13-year-old took me back to my own memories hitting the pavement on my Huffy in the ‘90s. Now with a nine-year-old girl of my own I understand how important it is to provide the freedom and time to experience girlhood memories than linger like these...

I loved Karen Russell’s essay (which is odd because I so disliked her novel, “Swamplandia”). It spoke, in many ways, to my own experience growing up on the opposite coast. That interstice between girlhood and womanhood is a glory, yet it is gone even before it really gets going. Girls do deserve more than a teasing glimpse of limitless possibility.

As a teenager and in my twenties I went to Jones Beach, on Long Island, to smoke cigarettes and bake in the hot summer sun. When we had kids, my wife and I decided on Orchard Beach: closer to northern Queens, the traffic seemed more bearable. The Long Island Sound water was milder than the ocean, though without waves (which was weird at first). But it was the milieu which enthralled us: Long Island beaches weren’t what we knew, Orchard Beach was: myriad cultures, a dozen languages, barbecue smoke and volleyball, soccer (fútbol, por favor), salsa and jazz and rock (and, luckily, a quiet, radio-free beach section). And a nature walk back behind the beach. Concepción de León captures it just right. I’m not Dominican, but I am a New Yorker, and I recognize her descriptions. There were times when I saw the smoke and smelled the aromas I wished someone would invite us to sit down and have a cerveza and a piece of chicharrón. Great memories. I am so glad it’s almost summer again. Gracias.

Regarding the story Pool Days - I was in the Navy that summer but had an interesting experience in boot camp a few months before. I, too, grew up on Long Island swimming in pools and the beaches. But most of the recruits that were in my company in boot camp did not. So when we had a group swimming test I was by far the best. So much so that I almost hit my head on the side of the pool because I was less than a foot from completing my second underwater lap before most of the company had done half of their first. So the CPO blew his whistle to end the test early; told me I passed; then made everyone else start over again.

Wonderful beautiful summer flash essays! Inspires us writer wannabes to follow suit! Thanks for these.

Best read of the weekend and pure delight.

Yes, Heidi Julavits, ‘Swimming In The Glow’ - yes, I remember it well. It was a brutally hot August night, and not having air conditioning, we jumped in the Sound. We came up for air, glowing with bioluminescence. It was one of the most beautiful nights of my life. I even made a quilt to commemorate it and I’m looking at it now. A few years later JAWS came out and we never did it again.

The artist goes by “mcbess” on Instagram.

Interesting and fun graphics. The illustration credits are invisible, or at least hard to see, in the digital edition. Illustrators get less visibility than they deserve in general. It's especially sad when attribution is completely missing, particularly in a publication as important as the NYTimes.