Mike Correia

When I was a kid, summer vacation seemed to last forever. We'd have half or June, all of July, and all of August to do nothing but hang out and have fun. Towards the end of August every year, we'd spend two weeks at the beach with my grandparents - those two weeks alone felt like forever to me.

The older I got, the faster summer seemed to go by, even though it got longer when I was in college. Summer jobs were the cause of that, but to have money and then get the freedom of being able to drive a car were worth all those hours at the video store.

Now that I am in my thirties, married, and working full time - Summer is just a season to me. It's when the weather is warm and the sun is bright. It's when I try to turn weekends into mini-vacations and hope that traffic doesn't get in the way of me playing golf with my friends.

But if you live in Boston or the surrounding area this year, you're probably asking yourself - where the hell is our summer!?

Almost every single day of June was rainy. Now, we're in July and the first day has me staring at a downpour. I planned on playing golf today, but that's been canceled. And when there was a break in the rain the other day, long enough for us to play nine holes, it was like walking through the everglades.

I lived for a year in Naples, Florida and was used to the rainy season. But that meant a daily storm, usually followed up by nice warm sunshine.

I am still waiting on that sunshine!

Before I know it, it will be August, then September, and boom - Summer is gone.

Sure, I love Fall - with the changing leaves, the cooling weather, football, and post-season baseball - but I love Fall after I have a nice Summer.

Not after a five month Spring.

Okay weather, we're ready when you are....Bring us our Summer.

Labels: thoughts

This one looks like a lot of fun. I am a fan of Matt Damon and I enjoy Steven Soderbergh's films.

Labels: movies

I know that it's not going to be a great movie - maybe not even a good movie - but hell, I love this type of crap, so I am actually looking forward to this.

Labels: movies

I was driving my car the other day, and I happened to pass a couple of boys driving their bikes down the sidewalks. Where they were coming from and where they were going, I have no idea. But a thought occurred to me - they have the ultimate freedom.

When you turn 16, the only thing you can think about is getting your license and finally having the freedom to drive a car. But that freedom also brings with it a certain level of responsibility. Now, you can run errands for your parents. Now, you can get a job. Now you can drive your little brother to soccer practice.

As you get older it only gets worse. Where was I driving from the other day? The grocery store. Before that I came from work. So I got to drive over an hour to sit in an office all day then drive to buy food, drive home, and cook dinner.

Adulthood sometimes brings with it a complete lack of freedom. For those kids on the bikes it's more than likely the exact opposite. I remember back when I was a kid. I used my bike to go meet my friends and play whatever sport was in season. Or, I would just drive it and listen to my walkman, thinking I was exercising. Sometimes, we drove our bikes for no reason at all - just to drive them.

I can see how appealing it must be for guys to get a motorcycle and go off with a bunch of your friends. It brings you back to that time of ultimate freedom, but at the same time - for most of those guys at least - you still going to have to get up and go to work the next day.

Sometimes I dream about being back just for one day, before I had my license, before I had a job, before I had bills, before I was married and with a mortgage. Just me, some friends, and our bikes.

The ultimate freedom.

Labels: thoughts