Summer Calendars
Around every late June since moving to Atlanta, I recall the 21 summers when three families, including ours, lived together in one big house on Oquaga Lake, not far from Binghamton, NY. For 11 of those years, to keep track of who was visiting and when- as well as daily happenings, I illustrated the people and events with magic markers and a fine black pen into small squares on a grid, calling them ‘Summer Calendars’.
How did two brothers, a sister and their spouses and children live together and get along so well? It probably helped to have a sense of humor, to compromise if needed, and to always remember how lucky we all were to have a summer house on a pristine spring-fed lake 1200 feet above sea level where we never needed air conditioning. That all our children happened to be good friends added to our good fortune. I may not miss the long and cold Upstate NY winters now, but I do miss the lake house and camaraderie of the family with whom we shared those summers. The last calendars of July and August 1995 were selected for Hebrew Union College – Dr. Bernard Heller Museum’s show “Relative Relations” in NYC (2019/2020)
