Page 8 July 17, 2014 TORRANCE TRIBUNE By TerriAnn Ferren With the 4th of July behind us it seems like we are already in the middle of summer. The hot and sultry weather these past few weeks leaves me longing every evening for our ocean breeze. Some people have already been on vacation, like my friend Nadia. She flew to France to visit her relatives and arrived home last week on the 4th of July. Others haven’t taken such an exotic trip as Nadia, but might begin planning something soon. It seems to me that the middle of summer is a lazy time of year, maybe because when I was little I remember riding my bicycle, getting together with my friends, going to the movies, and walking to the Del Amo Mall for butterscotch ice cream sundaes that we used to buy at the Ontra Caféteria. Summer is the time to take a break. Last weekend, one of my friends said some-thing at a birthday dinner that resonated not only with me but with everyone at the table. She said she heard it somewhere, but couldn’t remember where. The quote is; “How did it get so late so fast?” That statement stopped the conversation. The pregnant pause said it all. The middle of summer reminds us to slow down and take a break if we haven’t, and maybe even plan a vacation. That same weekend, I asked Rene Ayala, Director of Worship and Music at St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church, if he had been on a vacation and he said no but did say, “Well, I am gonna take a little time off and enjoy some evenings on Sunday with my wife, Marianne. It [their 35th wedding anniversary] will be on August 4th and we’re very excited.” He didn’t go into it but I think Marianne is in for a special surprise on their anniversary. Rene spends every Sunday working so his time off is special when he can spend it alone with his wife. Greeting people after church, I saw Father Kevin Schindler-McGraw, OFM and decided to ask a priest if he ever gets time off for a vacation. He was quick to reply: “Like Sundays, summer is work time for me so I am enjoying being in the presence of God and carrying out his sacred work in the midst of all of this wonderful summer weather and then I’m going to get some rest time when it comes to the fall.” Seems Father Kevin has a ‘working summer.’ Two days later I attended a rehearsal for the Torrelles as they practiced their music for the upcoming Rock Around the Block in downtown Torrance, July 17th 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. I asked Dawn Switzer if she had any summer plans. She beamed, showed me a picture of her new grandson and said, “We will be going to see our first grandbaby [who lives] outside Sacramento, Tyler Kevin Keenan born June 28, on a Saturday. So he is just a week old. Adorable! That will be summer vacation from now on, visiting Tyler.” Leslie Cortez told me, “I am doing a ‘staycation.’ I am actually go-ing to stay out of the heat and not leave the house. Stay in with my air conditioning with my pups. It’s the first year I am not going on vacation somewhere outside California, outside Torrance…outside Arlington Avenue.” For some reason, I think maybe I will take Leslie to a movie so she can say she left Arlington Avenue. Elizabeth Pose, on the other hand told me, “Sort of [a vacation] a weekend trip to Las Vegas.” Sally Jo Sager told me, “I am planning to do something in August but I don’t have it planned exactly yet. I am off work and I am going to plan a little getaway but I don’t have it explicitly planned out. Hopefully, out of town somewhere but I would like to go out of the country. That would be really nice.” The most interesting vacation plans I heard at the Torrelles rehearsal was from Carolyn Chun, who smiled and said, “We are going to Orlando to visit Mickey at Disney World.” Her 8 year old son, Christian asked to go to Disney World last Christmas as a gift. So guess what? The family is going to Florida. Although this isn’t the Chuns’ first trip to Disney World, it will be one Christian will always remember. The one male in the group, Jeffrey Kidd an-nounced, “I am leaving for a wedding tomorrow back in New York on Long Island. It’s my first wife’s daughter’s wedding from her second marriage. It is like Peyton Place. Oh, and in August we are having a family reunion at our lake house back in New York - in Chautauqua Lake.” That sounds like a fun time and I am sure many other people have family reunions planned during the summer. 22-year-old Callie Cessna, a recent graduate of UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Language, Culture and Society, is working for the city of Redondo Beach as a Camp Counselor for a Day Camp at the Seaside Lagoon. She told me she went to Stagecoach, a country music festival. “It’s like Coachella, but for country. The campground that I was staying at had a pool – which is really nice with the heat in Indio. And they had giant pool parties every single day. It was three days but we got there one day early so we could meet people at our campsite. It was fun,” said Callie. The talented singing duo Andy Hill and Renee Safier have their summer booked solid with ‘gigs’ up and down the coast working their Annual August West Coast Tour. These two talented musicians told me they will be performing from Oregon to Vancouver, then make their way back to Torrance through Se-attle, Portland, Chico, Sacramento, Templeton, and Sundance, Utah! They will then continue to perform locally at the Buffalo Fire Depart-ment and of course will be hosting their 26th Annual Dylanfest on May 3, 2015. Wow, I am tired just listening to their plans. After listening to all the different plans of others of what to do for a break or vacation during the summer, I began thinking of my own plans. Why is it we have to carve out time to do something relaxing? Are our lives so busy we have to plan to stop? Maybe I will slow down a bit and have a ‘staycation,’ like Leslie. Or maybe it would be fun to go someplace exotic like Nadia who went to Paris, or Sally Jo who is planning a trip overseas. One thing is for sure. This year, the rest of the summer will be a slower summer for me than last year. I decided to remember how summer used to feel when I was young and out of school for the three months. I felt free. I felt like I had all the time in the world. I don’t want to think of the quote my friend recited at the birthday dinner and have regrets. This summer I will take time to enjoy every moment. May the rest of the summer be a gentle one for you. Take some time, even if it is simply an afternoon, and s-l-o-w down. Happy rest of summer! • TerriAnn in Torrance Planning Summer Harry’s & McCoy’s Moving Family Owned & Operated for 66 Years Time starts at your door Free use of boxes & wardrobes Short notice moves Home-Office-Apartments Local and Long Distance Licensed & Insured – CAL-T-160-989 Jerry Cohen, CEO with his granddaughter Moving handled with patience and kindness! Free Estimates 310.329.3493 Rene Ayala, Director of Worship and Music at St. Lawrence Martyr Church. Carolyn Chun of the Torrelles. Sally Jo Sager of the Torrelles. Dawn Switzer, Leslie Cortez, and Elizabeth Pose of the Torrelles. Photos by TerriAnn Ferren. Jeffrey Kidd, Torrelle.
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