A SUMMER TO BE TREASURED

Josh O’Brien never really gave much thought to aging until he turned forty-five. He looked in the mirror and said, “Who is this old person I see?” He could handle balding. Well, at least he had grown to handle it, but why is the hair from his head being replaced by hair growing from his ears, back and nose? And it is coming in gray at that. He could still hear his grandmother telling him, “I know people look at me and see an old woman, but in my mind I am still a young girl.”
You always think you are young and hip until some fifteen year old teasingly calls you old! Just like his grandmother, when Josh thinks about it, it seems like only a few years ago he was that young boy’s age. In fact, he can remember it like it was yesterday. That is where this story begins….
Josh lived in a small Pennsylvania town called Oakwood Acres. An attractive little neighborhood outside of Pittsburgh with his mom Maddy, father Cletus, little sister Janie, and younger brother Paulie.
At fifteen years old the biggest problem Josh had was running out of Clearasil, and trying not to trip over his tongue when one of the neighborhood girls talked to him! He was extremely shy around people, especially the girls. His dad used to say, “You wouldn’t say crap if you had a mouthful,” and he was right; However, when he was around his buddies, that was a different story.
Rusty and his friends were always outside in those days, no matter what the weather was like. If they weren’t playing baseball or street hockey, they were riding the dirt bikes. All the neighbors knew who they were and kept an eye out for them, and if you weren’t careful you might just get a swift kick in the behind if you were up to no good. It was different then. The world seemed to move at a slower pace, and everybody knew each other. People would stop and say hello, ask how you were doing. That is something everyone could use a little more of these days.