Summer’s Warm Words Slice Readers Capture The Essence Of Summer In A Magnificent Seven
The Slice asked readers to pick the seven words that best define summer in the Inland Northwest.
And Jan Loehr had a question about the contest. “Isn’t that like abbreviating the Bible to three pages?” Well, maybe. But that didn’t stop her from trying (though the judges took a dim view of her use of phrases and hyphens): fruit pies, hummingbirds, butterflies, fish-fries, wiener-roasts, marshmallow-toasts, carrousel-rides.
She had company. There were 207 entries. Even with duplications, that’s a lot of nouns and adjectives.
Did our wordsmiths come close to capturing the essence of summer? Let’s look at a few of the lists and you can judge for yourself.
Tunes, tans, rodeo, racing, barbecue, lakes, kids. - Ed Tamosaitis
Camping, fishing, swimming, BBQ, biking, volleyball, boating. - Michael Hensz
Fairs, rodeos, smells, hot, convertibles, carrousel, memories. - Fran McCathern
Popsicles, s’mores, yellowjackets, sunscreen, sandals, sprinklers, dandelions. - Maureen Bellos
Flyfishing, camping, flyfishing, T-ball, flyfishing, fireworks, flyfishing. - Tom Zysk
Ballooning, festivals, gardening, watermelon, travel, swimming, mosquitoes. - Sandra Johnson
Grandchildren, reunions, lakes, camping, fry bread, teepees, pow wows. - Dee Dee Morris
Harvest, camps, deodorant, rattlesnakes, skinned knees, lemonade, forest fires. - Benay Lyman
Fore! Splash! Steee-rike! Ah-choo! Timberrrr! Fire! Run! - Kathy Berrigan
Strawberries, babes, beer, boats, flowers, bugs, allergies. - Paula Gorton
Green, clotheslines, mosquitoes, parade, shorts, zucchini, harvest. - Barbara Peringer
Working, playing, dating, gardening, relaxing, walking, partying. - Christine Smith
Lounging, sunning, tanning, sleeping, burning, hurting, peeling. - Beth Kleweno
Scream and shout ‘cause school is out. - Dave Cain
Get-out-of-town-fast-as-possible. - Scott Lucas
Cloudless skies suntanned guys and huckleberry pies. - Hazel Kivett
OK, we can’t print every list. But here, from dozens of entries, are a few of the choices the judges enjoyed: Thunderstorms, thongs, mitt, cherries, binoculars, mowing, rollerskating, saddle, sleepovers, farmer tan, cleats, blading, reading, Hoopfest, float, wind chimes, boring.
Sprinklers, pool, fleas, sand trap, shortsleeves, rock climbing, waterskiing, sunset, barefoot, ticks, moose, ice cream, ants, cabin, sticky, hammock, canning, picnics.
Planting, sunglasses, Hudson’s, campfire, flies, ice tea, sand, croquet, flab, freckles, sweat, hoe, box fan, sailing, bees, squirt guns, snowcones, snuggling, painting, dust, ogling, concerts, corn, air-conditioning, bikinis, bikes, buns, hairy legs.
Heat stroke, TV soaps, blues, tomato, bullfrog, volksmarch, screens, sunflowers, swallows, spiders, siestas, raspberries, chirping, motorcycle, grilling, baseball, laughter, wet.
Shells, crickets, nap, potato salad, dancing, antiquing, hot dogs, antihistamines, shorts, itch, submerge, shortcake, pine, orchards, mums, whitewater, dogs, gulls, strawberries, tremendous, dam, trails, canoe.
The Gorge, birds, cold cuts, tennis, tubes, ice, cruising, gondolas, docks, call-in-sick-but-not-really-be, veranda, detour, bears, honeymoons, lawn chair, hamburgers, Centennial Trail, toenails.
Shaver, aphids, sun tea, rafting, snooze, boardwalk, grain fields, unpredictable, basking, tequila, jetskiing, serenity, no humidity, preserve, dalliance, music, smelly tents, coolers, stretch marks, screaming kids, saggin’, petunias, perfect, calves, birdbath, alfalfa, relatives, fawns, watch-wife-mow-lawn, stars, drag racing, lotion, beach, lifeguard, melting, stream, sink, butt, hitting, scorch, camcorder, RV, snakes, steaks, cucumbers, baby animals, smoke, construction, confusion and Doyle’s.
The list goes on and on. And on. But you get the idea.
A dozen or so winners will receive the last Slice T-shirts we have left in stock. For all the others who wrote in, we have one more word.
Thanks.
Have a safe one.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Staff illustration by Molly Quinn