Summers in my home town sometimes seemed endless. We walked or biked wherever we needed to go. One of my favorite places was the town library. I would walk there once per week and come home with about 5 novels at a time. I would finish them all in a week. What did I read? Mostly Gothic novels of romance. I could live vicariously because I never had a boyfriend of my own until I was in college. I would lose myself in those novels and imagine my own Prince Charming. I often sat on the front porch to read in my favorite chair. It was a great place to be by yourself and enjoy the quiet.
There were so many places to wander and cool off... Big Basin, Gray Rock, Indian Pond, Peck's Brook, Anthony's Pond. We swam in all of the frigid brook holes in the local streams. The water coming off the mountains was very cold. One could be warm in those streams only when it was 90 degrees for a few days.
Hiking was also a popular pastime...Mt Greylock, the Cobbles, local pastures. We would walk or bike to the trails and spend all day hiking and exploring. We would eat our lunches at the top and enjoy the views.
Playing softball was also a favorite of mine. The local playgrounds fielded teams and sometimes we played other towns' girls' teams. I was a first baseman but also played second base and short field. I had a pretty good swing and did not like to strike out. My nickname was "Harmon" for Harmon Killebrew.
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