It is summer's end. Or nearly so. Here in New England the end of summer is marked by the start of school and cotton sweaters in the evening. Where I am from in Oklahoma, the end of summer comes with the final crack of a baseball bat and amber fields turned brown from a tractor's plow. Each of us marks summer's passing with those unique anchors that stay with us forever no matter where life takes us and drops us off.
For me, summer's end is the beginning of a lot of travel and never-ending meetings. In September the GoAbroad.com travel fair in Toronto and Vancouver awaits along with meetings in New York and Washington, DC. In October the WYSTC conference in Istanbul lies ahead and then a long flight to China for meetings in Shanghai, Beijing and Yantai. And so it goes until the end of the year.
But long before I head to the airport, I want to savor the final days of the season, much as I do the last few bites of a fine meal. I discovered yellow tomatoes this year and I ate them like candy. Having mentioned a fine meal, try fresh, raw tuna with watermelon and sweet yellow tomatoes. Incredible blend of tastes, served in the early evening outside with a cold glass of white wine.
Living on the Connecticut shore, watching Lobstermen bring in their daily catch is one of summer's rewards. I never tire of the seafood smell, the loud (and mostly rude) gulls, the sounds of the marine engines (like tuk-tuks in Thailand), the bowline knot and the sight of father and son unloading hundreds of pounds of lobster.
During summer, beach sand is everywhere. It's such a pain. I walk on it on the way to the bathroom at night. I feel it under my feet when I shuffle into the kitchen to make my morning coffee. And then I wake up late at night and the cool late-August air reminds me that just like a visitor who has stayed too long, the sand all over the house is soon to be no more. And I look for just one more really hot summer day, because I know by February, I would give almost anything to have sand in the house and to hear the lobster boats coming in to dock. Summer is almost over.
Flashlight tag. Fireflies. Cutting the lawn. Weeding the garden. The Boston Red Sox each evening at 7:05 p.m. Replacements on the way: leaf rake; snow blower; ice melt; grey days.
September also initiates our new opportunities. Stay tuned for new volunteer programs in China, South Korea, Jordan, Italy, Greece, Spain, Vietnam, Thailand and Chile. Our new partnership with AIFS will bring our volunteer and teach abroad programs to more and more college students. The fishing boats have quieted, the bustling harbor is now sleepy and the sand on every floor has been swept away. For the next eight months we will be focused on global issues and opportunities for you. I hope I will see you out there on a project or in a classroom real soon.
Randy LeGrant
Executive Director
GeoVisions International