Listening (really) to music (really)

Yesterday evening Sweet Hubby and I joined friends for a concert in the park.  The terrific music was provided by an Earth, Wind, & Fire cover band.  (I wonder what happened to Water.)  Our friends have a house in Los Angeles, but several years ago bought a condo here in Seattle and come up here during the summers to escape that dreadful SoCal heat.  Maybe because they only live here part time, they are really good about sniffing out fun, and usually free, things to do.  The concert yesterday was their idea.

It was glorious to be sitting in beach chairs on the grass in the shade of a big tree, eating cherries and homemade hummus, listening to great music, and, when I wasn't eating, dancing my ass off.  I was reminded of a long ago playwrighting mentor who started her sessions by saying "There's nothing that can't be solved by Earth, Wind, & Fire".  She'd put on music and have us all up and dancing to get our blood pumping and our brains oxygenated.  I was also reminded of an all-day blues festival I attended in the late 80's.  It was a killer line-up (Etta James, BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, to name just a few of the acts), and I don't think I sat down once that whole time - maybe to go to the bathroom - but was up dancing all day and into the night.  When I hear music of almost any kind, I can't help but move.

I've been noticing lately that summer is my least favorite season, which is so different from when I was a kid and summer meant, of course, freedom from school.  I do enjoy the long days, and there is always so much to do.  But I just don't do well in the heat any more.  Even though this area is a great deal more temperate than a lot of the rest of the country, and the world, (triple digit water temp off the coast of Florida!?!?), and there is plenty of shade from the many, many trees, I just don't care for being hot.  Maybe it's the 17 years of hot flashes that have me more sensitive to heat.  I just don't feel like doing much during these long warm days, so it's a good thing I have friends who invite me to join them for one adventure or another.  Speaking of which, gotta run.  I'm joining a friend to see an evening of cat videos.  Sounds like heaven.