Hot August Days bring back memories

This past week in North Carolina has been one of the hottest in memory. They say that it broke all records but I remember an August in 1983 that came darn close.

My husband and I were celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary and we’d invited a bunch of friends and relatives to join us in an outdoor, all-day picnic andcelebration. About 40 people joined us and the two couples who came the furthest were Mary & Filippo, friends from NY and my sister Peggy and her husband Clif from Massachusetts.

We laughed when Clif said that, as they were approaching our area, they heard a weather forecast. It declared that Fayetteville, NC (within 25 miles of us) was the hottest spot in the United States for that day. As Clif said to Peg, ”We must be nuts to be going to an outdoor celebration in this heat.”

We did appreciate their coming, however, and it proved to be a HOT but wonderful day and evening. We had rented an area that included a covered pavilion, many picnic tables and chairs and a sandy beach that bordered a small lake. Horseshoes, chess games and lots of good talk were enjoyed by all.

The highlight of the day came when Dick delivered the 150 lb. barbecued pig on a 4x6 board on the back of his truck. Luckily we had a few guests who were expert carvers and they took over. The other specialty was the three tiered cake that my friend Linda had presented to us as her gift. It was actually more elaborate than the one that we’d had at our wedding !

I have very fond memories of that day too. It all started on August 23rd when we said our “I Do’s” at the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in NY City. That was in 1958 and I think that the last thing I would have imagined was that 25 years later we would be sweltering in Pinehurst, NC.

And now it is 2007 and those are long-gone memories brought back to mind by the extreme heat of this August day. But the heat is fading...it has already “cooled down” to the low 90’s... and the memories are receding too; but they will never be gone, however, and for that I am thankful.