“June is bustin’ out all over!” That’s a salute to summer, from Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic musical Carousel. It seems like May was just here and now it’s gone. June brings warm weather and blue skies, mounds of fresh produce at the local farmers’ market, flowers blooming and the urge to be outside.
Janet and D. Z. are writing like crazy, when we’re not up to our chins in all those other things that demand our attention. But we’re giving you our thoughts on the month of June.
Janet Dawson
June
In June, the history maven in me thinks about D-Day, the June 6, 1944 landing on the Normandy beaches. This year is the 80th anniversary of that massive military operation. I have a Memorial Day ritual. I watch the sprawling 1962 epic The Longest Day, based on Cornelius Ryan’s bestseller about the landings. It stars just about every available actor from the United States, Britain, France and Germany, and I really like the movie.
The other D-Day ritual movie, which I usually watch on June 6, is small and personal rather than huge with an enormous cast. The film is called A Foreign Field, from 1994, a bittersweet comedy-drama about a handful of people visiting Normandy for the 50th anniversary of the landings.
One of the things I like about The Longest Day is the small vignettes interspersed with all the battle sequences. One of those came to mind as we settled on June as the subject of the newsletter. This particular scene is in the early part of the movie, as the massive operation is waiting for the go-ahead. Actor Roddy McDowall plays a soldier, stretched out in a Jeep aboard a ship, waiting. And musing on the topic of June.
“June. Every June my old man used to take me camping up in the Blue Mountains. We’d hunt and fish all day long. And at night, we’d sleep out under the stars. Didn’t even need a blanket. June.”
June, the start of summer. And with summer come the memories.
I think of the backyard of my grandmother’s house, where summer meant watermelon chosen from a farm stand out on the highway. And vanilla ice cream made in an old-fashioned wooden freezer with a crank handle. Grandma would concoct the mix and load it into the cylinder, with rock salt packed in around it. Then my uncles would take turns cranking that handle. When the ice cream was done, the cousins would vie with each other to lick the paddles.
Enjoy June and the rest of the summer. We will be back in July with our short stories. In the meantime, read a good book, one of mine, or one by D. Z.
D. Z. Church
June Too
Nothing like the last day of school. Nothing! Not in the whole wide world, three whole months of summer stretching out in front of you. For me, it was trips to the various lakes in Michigan, swimming, fishing, trying to waterski and to impress the boys. Our neighbors had two really adorable grandsons, a cottage on a lake, and a ski boat. My older sister took to the sticks like a pro. My attempts are still fireside fodder, ending up with my skis floating on the lake upside down and me perpendicular beneath. Oh my!
Nothing like the long days of early June, warming as the sun moves steadily north. I only wish June were longer so that the 20th arrived sometime in August. I love those wistful, warm days, sitting out at 9 PM, slapping bugs and watching the day fade. There is a line from William Inge’s play Picnic that always catches me. Rosemary, the school teacher, says to Howard (her suitor), “It’s like the daytime didn’t want to end, isn’t it? It’s like the daytime gonna put up a big scrap, set the world on fire to keep the night from creeping on.”
But June 21 or 22 always comes, as does the dark a bit earlier each day, making you want to spend each moment of light wisely, willfully, and in wonder.
Since summer begins officially in June, it’s the perfect time to read Perfidia, a beach thriller, if there ever was one. (Available in Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, Audible audio, Paperback, and Hardcover).
The hook:
The DEA claims Olivia Lassiter’s father, Del, was last seen retrieving the wave-battered body of his drug-running partner from a rocky cove in Barbados. In disbelief, Olivia outruns the DEA to Del’s safe deposit box only to uncover an emerald and ruby necklace, bearer bonds, and a rusty key.
When a couriered note from Del demands the key and a glib Barbadian lawyer dangles intrigue, Olivia grabs the next flight to Barbados, landing in the middle of a tug of war over a historic plantation, a hunt for rumored pirate booty, and a host of long-kept secrets.
It will take all of Olivia’s wiles to survive Perfidia.
The reviews:
Kirkus Reviews. A constant, exhilarating atmosphere of distrust… Church’s indelible descriptions of Perfidia, meanwhile, turn even an innocuous cane field into something unnerving. Overpowering dread and a leery protagonist make this a suspenseful read. Kirkus Reviews
Reader, KL Brew. I really enjoyed this book because you can escape from the real world for a time. I loved the characters and did not want the book to end. Can’t miss with Islands, Ocean, Pirates and History.