25/01/2022
School was barely a memory in July of 1964. My favorite song on the radio was "Wishin' & Hopin'" by Dusty Springfield. For some reason it just resonated with me. Of course, the sun, and the green, and the scents of fresh blackberries that grew wild along the back fence likewise struck a pleasing chord with me. In my young world there was no way that Dusty's song should have topped anything by The Beatles, but it did. Like most on my block I grew up with Kool-Aid. The cool taste of lime from Mom's plastic pitcher was beyond words. That year We lived on a gravel road where patchy grass grew along the roadside. Shards of sharpened gravel made great throwing rocks, but was a brutal place to crash a bike. Band Aids were a staple in our house, and they were used almost as much as salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, with sticky green apple fingers, I turned the volume up on the radio whenever I heard:
"Wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'
Plannin' and dreamin' each night of his charms
That won't get you into his arms
So if you're lookin' to find love you can share
All you gotta do is hold him, and kiss him and love him
And show him that you care..."
That song still takes me back to the sun and blue skies of that beatific summer of 1964. Our closest store was Food Fair which was a hike down the steep dirt hill toward Southeast Powell where I spent many dimes and pennies. A brand new Dairy Queen had come to our neighborhood and it was the latest taste sensation. Though The Beatles still pretty much owned the airwaves, I stayed glued for others favorites like The Dave Clark Five, The Beach Boys, The Newbeats, The Righteous Brothers, and of course Dusty. The summer of 1964 may have been a Hard Day's Night for the Fab Four, but for the kids on my block, it was smooth sailing.
