THESE DAYS, the sun sets at around 8:30. By the time July rolls by, it will still be light out an hour later. I love summers in Duluth. It's not cold anymore (thank God), the air becomes more humid (my skin thanks God), the days are long and the afternoons stretch forever.
Summer in Duluth, the locals come out of their hiding places and lay in parks to sunbathe. They are out biking, hiking, picnicking, fishing, hunting and--I guess--making babies in quivering tents in state parks. I see them snacking, chatting and sipping cups of coffee out on the deck at the neighborhood cafe. The women in tanktops, shiny and greasy with sunblock. The men, no longer bearded, but red from an afternoon in the sun.
I remember thinking "naku, there ARE people in Duluth naman pala." Kasi naman, in the winter and fall, 5:30 p.m. pa lang residential neighborhoods are deserted na. Everyone is always in a hurry to get from one heated building to the next. Women don't shave their legs and men grow beards.
Summers in Duluth, children and their parents sit on front porches. Kind of the way African American people do in the south. And I guess, the way people back home do in the afternoons. Except, if there are no porches, we sit on wooden benches. Those bankos, initially cool to the skin but nice and warm after you've been sitting on it for a while. I always used to like running my hands and fingers over the smooth wood. Wood that has been shined and polished by many bottoms :)
I have seen no such benches here in the US. Here in Duluth, there are lawn chairs, usually adjacent to barbecue grills. College kids wear flipflops (a.k.a. the venerable tsinelas) as if these were expensive Italian shoes. They were these to the bank, to school, to the office. They wear these playing frisbee or while hooking up their fishing boats, canoes or kayaks to their pre-owned and gently used cars (not safe). Hmmm, the tsinelas as a fashion accessory. Makes me think of Boracay.
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I like summers in Duluth. I get lots done in a day. I finish work at 4 p.m. Bike and poke around town until 6. Have dinner with C. and clean up by 7:30 or 8. Then I read, write, play with the cats until the sun goes down or I get sleepy. Some days, we are done with dinner and dishes by 6 and I'm too lazy to bike up and down hills (Duluth is one big hill made up of mini-hills.). But because it is still light outside, I don't feel like reading in bed. So I get antsy. I see my neighbors mowing their lawns or gardening and I get even more antsy. These instances I sometimes succeed in dragging C. to the lake walk. Or, when he's glued to the couch, I say the magic words: "Want to go to Home Depot or Menards?" :D
Note: Half of this reviewed segment--namely before Jay Cooke through to Thomson, MN--will be closed for repairs from June 19 to July 7. Local trail users suggest starting from Thomson for longer rides.
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