Long summer nights sitting on the porch gives one time to think and reminisce.
As the lightening bugs emerge for their nightly dance, the mind returns to a time of tag, hide and seek, croquet with family and friends and the second most important Holiday to a kid (sorry Easter and Thanksgiving, even Halloween), Fourth of July!
For many in our region it was miners vacation time. Two weeks of uninterrupted fun perhaps spiced up with a trip to the beach or Gatlinburg.
Awh, but the 4th. At a time when getting a soda or ice cream or watermelon was not a daily (even weekly) occurrence, the 4th was the crowning achievement of summer – a time of complete freedom (as long as you obeyed your momma).
And a top the pyramid of goodies for a kid was the Grape Nehi. A delicacy that put caviar, truffles or pate de foie gras to shame. Chugging an ice gold Nehi (Grape, Orange, Cherry) after a hard game of tag put one into nirvana!
Life was good, and we wondered how it could get any better.
This summer we celebrated another 4th of July. Independence Day.
In talking with many of my fellow workers, folks from church and others, the cloud of COVID-19 hangs in the discussion.
However, I hear another story from folks with kids and grandkids. It goes something like this, “My kids are having a summer like I did when I was growing up. Not having to run for travel ball, this class, that class or weekend trips to have fun. They are getting to explore being a kid in the summer.”
Perhaps another silver lining to all that we face is the realization of what is most important, what sticks in your mind on a summer eve once you become a sixty-some year old Bank CEO sitting on the back porch.
So let’s raise a Grape Nehi to the real values and beauties of being a kid in the Mountains for the Summer.
– Leton
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“Letters From Leton” is a blog series comprised of the weekly updates that Leton Harding – President, Chairman, and CEO of Powell Valley National Bank, shares with the Bank’s team members. These newsletters are full of uplifting anecdotes and intriguing insights that are applicable beyond the Bank, so we want to share them with you.
