75th Way - 'Summer'

Mother and someone else -my nephew Craig perhaps, sat on low-slung lawn chairs next to the kennel that once harbored a dog named Rufus, possibly 30 years before. Moisture still clung to the grass. It was pristine quiet -no cars or gardening equipment, nothing. A stand of Douglas Fir stood behind them.

"There's something wonderful I want you to hear! " I said as I returned to the house and brought out my boombox. I slipped in a CD, *Vivaldi's Four Seasons*. I put on *Summer* first.

Vivaldi was Italian and, despite his priesthood, had loved women. *Summer* was not about the season but his passion. You can't tell me otherwise. Mother loved Italy. It was where her life was changed forever. 'Summer' was perfect for her.

I wonder if Mother later reflected on that day in my backyard in Olympia, Washington.