This is it. The final Summer Songs post. In these dog days of August, I’m feeling kind of lazy. And next week it will be September. Don’t know about you, but it’s been a good summer here. I’m ready for a change, though, a little cool in the air. Kids have headed back to school. Halloween stuff is already out at all the stores.
This song isn’t a summer song per se, but the video is all about lazy summer days and nights spent in the country. It reminds me of summer when I was a kid. Do kids play outside anymore?
I hope your summer has been peaceful and full of good times, memories you’ll look back on and smile about. Be sure to hug those you love. Happy Saturday night!
Mr. R and I went out for dinner last weekend to celebrate the closing of his first real estate listing. Unsure of where we wanted to go, we looked online to find some options. We really wanted to try someplace we’d never been before.
We landed on Cool’a Fishbar at Legacy Place in Palm Beach Gardens. The menu looked good, and the prices were moderate. The website offered us the opportunity to make a reservation, which we did.
When we arrived about 10 minutes early, we were seated immediately in a large booth. The interior is upscale indoor tiki, with lots of dark wood and woven rattan. Our server, Steven with a ‘v’, was both friendly and efficient, and extremely knowledgeable about the menu, which boasts fresh, locally caught seafood.
We ordered coconut shrimp as an appetizer, and I opted for Cool’a’s signature drink, a strong rum and citrus concoction. I cannot tell a lie, I had two.
For dinner, Mr. R ordered the Mediterranean Seafood bowl–a mixture of shrimp and scallops with tomato, spinach and feta cheese, sauteed with white wine, lemon, butter, and oregono over angel hair. I chose the Island Grilled Salmon, which was topped with crabmeat and a Hawaiian aioli. My entree came with two sides, and I had the mixed baby greens and the Cool’a potato, a heavenly kind of au gratin served in a ramekin.
EVERYTHING, and I mean everything, was delicious. We ate like we’d just tapped out of Naked and Afraid. Across from us, a couple shared a slice of Key lime pie. I wanted some so badly, but I was too full to even think about it.
Suffice it to say, we’ve found a great new place to go for date night.
*The first three photos are taken from the Cool’a website. The last one, of my dinner, is mine.
We’re going way back this week, all the way back to the 80s for tonight’s serenade. How could we have a series of summer songs and not have Endless Summer Nights by Richard Marx?
Way back in nineteen eighty something-something, I saw Richard Marx in concert on Daytona Beach for MTV’s Spring Break. Remember when they still played music?
Opening for him was the band Squeeze, who I mistook for a really good local band at the time. Anyway, Marx came on and played all the hits. Sax god (that’s SAX god) Dave Koz played with him, and it was one of those magical moments in time.
I hope you’re enjoying your weekend. Take a moment to appreciate the moment. And be sure to hug those you love.
We’re taking a bit of a departure this week for tonight’s serenade. Wichita Lineman isn’t exactly a summer song, but I wanted to note the loss of another great musician this past week.
I can remember watching Glen Campbell on television when I was a kid. I can recall my little brother calling him ‘Glim Candle.’ Of course, back then I had no appreciation for the amazing talent the man was. He was a singer, songwriter, gifted musician, and he even tried his hand at acting.
He was in the original True Grit, the good one, with John Wayne, not the sorry remake from a few years back.
He succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer’s, the same disease that took my grandmother. To say that it’s an awful thing is a massive understatement. People always think of confused old people who don’t remember the names of their family members. But that’s just where it starts.
My grandmother started running away from her home because she didn’t recognize my grandfather, her husband of over 50 years. He finally moved her into a nursing home, where she felt more at peace. But the disease began to eat away at her other functions: mobility, sight, hearing, the ability to swallow. It’s devastating.
While looking for tonight’s song, I came across this interview with Alice Cooper about his good friend Glen Campbell. At one point he says that when he found out about Glen’s diagnosis, he hoped it would take him quickly. I get that.
Wichita Lineman is a simple, beautiful song about a hard-working man who’s away from his love.
I am a lineman for the county and I drive the main road
Searchin’ in the sun for another overload
I hear you singin’ in the wire, I can hear you through the whine
And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line
I know I need a small vacation but it don’t look like rain
And if it snows that stretch down south won’t ever stand the strain
And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line
And I need you more than want you, and I want you for all time
And the Wichita Lineman is still on the line
I hope you’re spending a wonderful August weekend, doing what you love with those you love. Be sure to give them a hug. Happy Saturday night!
Happy August, everyone! This summer is just moving on along, isn’t it? I’m feeling pretty happy right now, I’ll just be honest with you.
This is the final summer weekend for all my teacher friends. They have to show up on Monday, ready for another year. My retirement officially starts Monday.
I know, I’ve been off all summer, but I would have been anyway. In all fairness, though, since the end of school in June, I’ve been working seven days a week as I endeavor to make a go of full-time writing, so I didn’t actually take a break. But I’m happy doing what I’m doing, I’m nearly finished with my new novel, and I know what my next project will be.
Tonight’s serenade is a romantic little song, I’m Yours by Jason Mraz. It isn’t a summer song per se, but it always feels summery to me. Guanabanas, one of our favorite date night destinations, is a tropical paradise, an outdoor bar/restaurant on the river in Jupiter. On their tiki stage, there’s usually a guy with an acoustic guitar singing Jason Mraz covers. I love to order a Cat 5 hurricane along with a round of their homemade fish dip and just chill.
Feel free to do the same on this first weekend of August. Be sure to hug those you love, and tell them how much they mean to you. Happy Saturday night!
I’m Yours
Well, you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill, but you’re so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks
Now I’m trying to get back
Before the cool done run out
I’ll be giving it my bestest
And nothing’s gonna stop me but divine intervention.
I reckon, it’s again my turn
To win some or learn some.
But I won’t hesitate
No more, no more.
It cannot wait,
I’m yours.
Well, open up your mind and see like me,
Open up your plans and damn you’re free.
Look into your heart and you’ll find love, love, love, love.
Listen to the music of the moment, people dance and sing, we’re just one big family
And it’s our God-forsaken right to be loved, loved, loved, loved, loved
So I won’t hesitate
No more, no more.
It cannot wait,
I’m sure.
There’s no need to complicate.
Our time is short.
This is our fate,
I’m yours.
Do you want to come on, scooch on over closer, dear
And I will nibble your ear
I’ve been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror
And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer
But my breath fogged up the glass
And so I drew a new face and I laughed.
I guess what I’ll be saying is there ain’t no better reason
To rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons.
It’s what we aim to do.
Our name is our virtue.
But I won’t hesitate
No more, no more.
It cannot wait,
I’m yours.
Well, open up your mind and see like me,
Open up your plans and damn you’re free.
Look into your heart and you’ll find that the sky is yours.
So please don’t, please don’t, please don’t…
There’s no need to complicate.
‘Cause our time is short.
This oh, this oh, this is our fate.
I’m yours.
Oh, I’m yours
Oh, I’m yours
Oh, oh,
Baby, do you believe, I’m yours?
You best believe, you best believe, I’m yours.
Adventures in Date Night 
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