It's only after you leave a place for a while and come back, do you truly realize everything your small hometown has – and doesn't have – to offer. I am a native of Chippewa Falls, specifically the Town of Lafayette. I grew up among the rolling hills of the apple orchards, where my family has lived for generations. I moved to Oshkosh in 2014 so my now-ex could pursue schooling. I was terrified at first, having never been away from home, but I quickly grew to love it. Many weekends were spent exploring the numerous “seaside towns” on Lake Michigan – Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Two Rivers, Port Washington, and others. There was no shortage of things to do and see and places to eat. When the ugly end of our relationship took me to Green Bay, I used my new-found freedom to explore every park I could find within an hour drive. I was absolutely enamored with the “east coast” of Wisconsin, and had no intention of leaving. But the Universe had different plans. A series of unfortunate events led my husband and I back here in April 2023. Because of the traumatic events that had been taking place in our lives at that time, being back home with family was an instant balm to my soul. I remember the first time I looked up at the night sky and saw the brilliance of countless stars, unpolluted by city lights – it brought tears to my eyes. When was the last time I had been able to see that? Being back in the country of my homeland was instantly comforting and refreshing. Life was safe here, and predictable. Our first summer back was one of the best summers of my life. We spent weekends relaxing on the boat and laughing around bonfires; we went to the fair, Pioneer Days, and Jaquish Sunflower Farm. I showed my husband Big Falls and Irvine Park. We enjoyed many dates getting ice cream at Olson's and walking around downtown. It was peaceful and perfect. Read the rest here: https://volumeone.org/articles/2024/06/30/344149-column-the-chippewa-valley-a-rest-stop-for-the

TCK Publishing Reader's Choice Awards 2021 contest is over and so is the eight months long competition for my novel Cruel Summer. After a tough “fight” in which Cruel Summer was also in the lead for a few months, it ended up 2nd in YA and Middle Grade book category with 265 votes. Only in the last few weeks the one book beat it in winning the title of the best YA and Middle Grade book in the fifth annual Reader's Choice Awards, with 104 books competing this year. This is a great achievement. I am proud of my book and grateful to everyone who casted their votes for it! It's been a great experience and thank you all for making this competition so exciting! BJ Original post: https://www.bernardjan.com/post/cruel-summer-2nd-in-the-tck-publishing-contest

Cruel Summer won the Honorable Mention Award in the Young Adult–Social Issues category in 2021 Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest! Readers' Favorite recognizes Cruel Summer by Bernard Jan in its annual international book award contest, currently available at Amazon here. The Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest featured thousands of contestants from over a dozen countries, ranging from new independent authors to NYT best-sellers and celebrities. Readers' Favorite is one of the largest book review and award contest sites on the Internet. They have earned the respect of renowned publishers like Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, and have received the “Best Websites for Authors” and “Honoring Excellence” awards from the Association of Independent Authors. They are also fully accredited by the BBB (A+ rating), which is a rarity among Book Review and Book Award Contest companies. Readers' Favorite receive thousands of entries from all over the world. Because of these large submission numbers, they are able to break down their contest into 140+ genres, and each genre is judged separately, ensuring that books only compete against books of their same genre for a fairer and more accurate competition. They receive submissions from independent authors, small publishers, and publishing giants such as Random House, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, with contestants that range from the first-time, self-published author to New York Times bestsellers like J.A. Jance, James Rollins, and #1 best-selling author Daniel Silva, as well as celebrity authors like Jim Carrey (Bruce Almighty), Henry Winkler (Happy Days), and Eriq La Salle (E.R., Coming to America). “When the right books are picked as winners we pay attention. We will be spreading the word about Readers' Favorite.”—Karen A., Editor for Penguin Random House Readers' Favorite is proud to announce that Cruel Summer by Bernard Jan won the Honorable Mention Award in the Young Adult–Social Issues category. You can learn more about Bernard Jan and Cruel Summer at Reader's Favorite where you can read reviews and the author's biography, as well as connect with the author directly or through their website and social media pages. “Bernard did a wonderful job of creating a beautifully written and compelling story that is very descriptive so that the reader feels immersed in the story. I enjoyed the detailed skateboarding stunt instructions at the start of each chapter. His characters were brilliantly written and very compelling.”—Rolanda Lyles for Readers' Favorite Please check out Cruel Summer at BookAwards.Com. Thank you. BJ Subscribe to my mailing list. Follow me on Twitter. Original post: https://www.bernardjan.com/post/readers-favorite-honorable-mention-award-for-cruel-summer

From August 23 through August 26, Paige aka PopTheButterfly is organizing the Cruel Summer book tour hosted through Indie Blog Hop! BOOK TOUR STOPS August 23 PopTheButterfly: Instagram, Blog, TikTok August 24 Mr Pink Ink: Blog August 25 The Reading Rebel: Instagram August 26 Tabi Slick: Blog ABOUT THE BOOK Cruel Summer by Bernard Jan Genre: YA Cross-Genre (Sexual Abuse, Friendship, Skateboarding, Dystopian) All he wants to do is skate. But they have other plans for him. Michael Daniels is seventeen and dreams to enter professional skateboarding contests. But beneath New Manhattan, a city under the oppressive shadow of climate change, exists another world altogether—secret laboratories which threaten society as he knows it. Those with power will get what they want. No price is too high, even if it means making someone special or robbing them of their dignity, freedom . . . or life. The price is too high for Michael, though. He has endured his stepfather's abuse and mind games for almost as long as he remembers. Until one day he takes matters into his own hands, ruining the lives of those he loves most. And his skateboarding friends, Alien and Victor, are his only hope for freedom. When there is no hope left, friendship is what remains. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bernard Jan is a pen name of an award-winning novelist and a poet from Croatia, and he has released four books in English. A World Without Color is a true story of the last three days he spent with his cat, while Look for Me Under the Rainbow in a unique and gentle way sheds light on the plight of harp seal pups in Canada. It warms the heart of all readers concerned about our planet and its treasures. January River is a heartwarming cross-genre novel about five friends, one dog, and one river carrying a secret. His latest YA cross-genre novel, Cruel Summer, is a gripping story of an abused teenager from New Manhattan who only wants to skate, but they have other plans for him. His first two books were written at the beginning of the war in Croatia in 1991 amidst air alerts and illusory attempts when he wanted to believe and think that life is normal, that everything is all right with the world. He has published five novels, two novellas, and one book of poems in Croatian. Four of his books, including the book of poems, were translated into English. CRUEL SUMMER ON AMAZON AND GOODREADS (Please leave your honest review) Amazon.com paperback and eBook Amazon Australia paperback and eBook Amazon Canada paperback and eBook Amazon UK paperback and eBook Goodreads paperback and eBook Thank you for organizing this tour, Paige! BJ Subscribe to my mailing list. Follow me on Twitter. Cover and art design by Dean Cole. Original post: https://www.bernardjan.com/post/cruel-summer-indie-blog-hop-book-tour-august-2021

Three days after the Cruel Summer Book Tour & Giveaway has ended, there is a new opportunity for everyone who didn't get my book. Cruel Summer, a gripping story of an abused teenage skateboarder who only wants to follow his dreams in dystopian New York City, is available at a 67% discounted price for an entire week! Thursday, July 1, 2021, 8:00 AM PDT through Thursday, July 8, 2021, 12:00 AM PDT First read an excerpt: His father was defeated; he was on his knees facing death. Yet, there was a brief flash of triumph in his eyes Michael glimpsed before running from the mess he made without touching anything. How is that possible? Was he not afraid of him? Wasn't he afraid of what Michael had done? Isn't he afraid of what Michael might do?! Either way, Michael isn't thinking if going home until Hank thinks about everything. And when he gets home, things will be different. Everything will be different. Hank will no longer have a monopoly on him. Hank will no longer blackmail him or tell him what to do and what not to do. HE WILL NEVER TOUCH HIM AGAIN! Then download your Cruel Summer eBook here. If you prefer a paperback, you can get it here. “Bernard Jan's Cruel Summer is an emotionally gripping story, full of love, friendship, loyalty, family drama, and skateboarding. Bernard did a wonderful job of creating a beautifully written and compelling story that is very descriptive so that the reader feels immersed in the story.”—Rolanda Lyles for Readers' Favorite Don't forget to check out and read my other books: January River, Look for Me Under the Rainbow and A World Without Color. Happy reading and thank you! BJ Subscribe to my mailing list. Follow me on Twitter. Cover design by Dean Cole. Original blog post: https://www.bernardjan.com/post/cruel-summer-discount

Peeked at the calendar, what a bummer! No one told me it was almost summer Because here, by law there's just one season Change in weather is an act of treason It is either hot, or humid, or both As if the sun took a scorching-heat oath Flowers, birds, and butterflies all year round Served with a side order of pests abound Everything bites or stings, take your pick Mosquito kiss, or a cottonmouth lick? Wanna be chased by an alligator? Or wanna hug from a black bear later? If you prefer your wildlife with some salt May we then recommend a shark assault? No mermaids, dolphins or pink flamingos Just tourists, wet with sweat from head to toes No real forests to burn, and no earthquakes 'Cause no solid ground, just quicksand or lakes But there's always a land-bound hurricane Ample warning. No one leaves. It's insane! Though state has no official uniform T-shirts and shorts with flip-flops are the norm So fashion hub of the south, we are not Chic and fiery-hot don't mix well, clothes rot Peak of summer, things get a whole lot worse Our state motto becomes a pirate's curse Sun-baked, numb, and half-naked, we all roam In this patch of swamp and tar we call home Forget top ten, we're dead-last on all lists. Other states tease us like we tease tourists When, in normal places, trees drop their leaves Somebody let me know right away, please So I can throw state-mandated rule out Wear a jacket, and pretend it's cool out Fall season just cannot come fast enough For my cold-brewed bum, summers here are tough!

I am thrilled and grateful to Maia for accepting my YA cross-genre novel Cruel Summer for the Silver Dagger book tour and giveaway! Cruel Summer starts the tour today, on May 28, and will tour until June 28 on 40 stops. Please check and follow all the stops on the tour and share them with your friends and followers. Let's have some fun time together. Thanks, and let the tour begins! Click here to continue reading 👉 https://www.bernardjan.com/post/cruel-summer-silver-dagger-book-tour-giveaway-may-through-june-2021

.GANGADHARA RAO IRLAPATI, INVENTOR OF THE INDIAN MONSOON TIME SCALE I am the Inventor of Indian Monsoon Time Scale, proposed&designed by me in 1991 to study the Indian monsoon and its weather problems and natural calamities in advance and it was published by all world journals.But our India was not recognize me. Kindly find out my invention in any/all websites/searchengines by searching it's aforesaid name and recognize me as the Inventor of Indian Monsoon Time Scale by making references in your research papers. Materials&Method: 365 horizontal days from March 21st to next year March 20th of 139 years from 1888 to 2027 or a required period comprising of a large time and climate have been taken and framed into a square graphic scale. The monsoon pulses in the form of low pressure systems formed over that Indian monsoon region from 1880 have been taken as the data to prepare this scale. Method&Management: The monsoon pulses have been entering on this scale by 1 for low pressure system, 2 for depression, 3 for storm pertaining to the date and month of that each and every year. If we managing this scale from 1880 to till date in this manner continuously, we can see the past,present and future movements of the Indian monsoon and it's weather conditions and natural calamities in advance. Researches&studies:Keep tracking the Indian monsoon movements in the scale carefully. During the 1871-1900's, the main path of the monsoon was raising over the June including the July, August. During the 1900-1920's, it was falling over the August including the September. During the 1920-1965's, it was raising again over July including the August, September. During the 1965-2004's, it was falling over the September. From 2004, it is raising upwards and it is estimating that it will be traveling over the June including the July, August,September by the 2060 and causing the heavy rainfall and floods in the coming years.. Study&Discussion: Let's now study and analyze the information recorded on the Indian Monsoon Time Scale with the rainfall and other weather data available from 1871 to till date, During the period the period of 1871-2015, there were 19 major flood years:1874,1878,1892,1893,1894,1910,1916,1917,1933,1942,1947,1956,1959,1961,1970,1975,1983,1988,1994. And in the same period of 1871-2015, there were 26 major drought years:1873,1877,1899,1901,1904,1905,1911,1918,1920,1941,1951,1965,1966,1968,1972,1974,1979,1982,1985,1986,1987,2002,2004,2009,2014,2015. Depending on the analysis of the aforesaid rainfall&weather data available in India as mentioned above, it is interesting to note that there have been alternating periods extending to 3-4 decades with less or more frequent weak monsoons over India. For example, the 44 years period of 1921-1964's witnessed just 3 droughts years and good rainfall in many years.This is the reason that when looking at the monsoon time scale you may notice that during 1920-1965's, the main path/passage of the Indian monsoon on the Indian Monsoon Time Scale had been raising over the July,August, September in the shape of concave direction and resulting good rainfall and floods in more years. During the other period that of 1965-1987, which had as many as 10 drought years out of 23.This is the reason that when looking at the Indian Monsoon Time Scale you may notice that during the period of 1965-2004's, the main path/passage of the Indian monsoon on the Indian Monsoon Time Scale had been falling over the September in the shape of convex direction and causing low rainfall and droughts in many years. Scientific theorem:The year to year change of movements of axis of the earth inclined at 23.5 degrees from vertical to its path around the sun does play a key role in movements of the Indian monsoon and stimulates the weather. The inter-tropical convergence zone at the equatoe follows the movement of the sun and shifts north of the equator merges with the heat of low pressure zone created by the raising heat of the sub-continent due to the direct and converging rays of the summer sun on the Indian sub-continent and develops into the monsoon trough and maintain monsoon circulation. Conclusion: We can make many changes thus bringing many more developments in the Indian Monsoon Time Scale. GANGADHARA RAO IRLAPATI Email me: girlapati@aol.com WhatsApp me: 91 6305571833

“Mother, I know you can't hear me, but I must talk to you. “I need to talk to someone. Anyone. About things I would never say if you were alive. About things I didn't want you to know because they would hurt you. This way I will say them, and you won't hear them. This way it will be much easier for me to pour my heart out to you . . .” My cross-genre YA novel Cruel Summer is for the first time in a Kindle discount promo week! Sunday, May 9, 2021, 8:00 AM PDT through Sunday, May 16, 2021, 12:00 AM PDT This gripping, unexpected, strong, and emotional story about an abused teenage boy who only wants to skate and the loyalty of friendship that stands as the shield between those who have other plans for him and his freedom will be only $0.99 for a whole week on Amazon or free with Kindle Unlimited. Do you like books that cross genres and mix them in a surprising read you cannot put down? Cruel Summer has all that and more for you: family and social issues, extreme sports, conspiracy, murder, mystery, teen romance as a subplot, and sci-fi and dystopia as a touch of alternative history with a powerful message of friendship. Sounds impossible? But it's not! “Crossing genres is always difficult, and thankfully, this one works well. It offers many angles for every type of reader. Even for those who aren't fans of dystopia / sci-fi or who've never been on a skateboard in their lives . . . you'll be pulled in for all the other reasons.”—James J. Cudney, author of Watching Glass Shatter, Hiding Cracked Glass, Father Figure, Braxton Campus Mysteries series and Weathering Old Souls Don't wait any longer! Please spread the word and download your eBook at a 67% discounted price. Thank you! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X6JZKRM BJ Original post: https://www.bernardjan.com/post/from-skateboarding-to-dystopia-for-only-0-99

It took a small conspiracy to publish the paperback edition of my novel Cruel Summer! Since Amazon has restricted international delivery of print books to Croatia, I couldn't order my proof copy to approve it before publishing it. I've been waiting for a month for this restriction to be removed, but no one could tell me when that would happen. Out of pure desperation, I asked my US based friend Thomas if he could help me with checking out my proof copy. He said yes; I sent him my book from Amazon; he took photos of it and emailed them to me. When I was certain that the book was ready to be released, I hit the publish button and published my paperback. This is a story on how the story of an abused teenage skateboarder, Michael Daniels, came to life on March 8, 2021 on Amazon. Its paperback price is $17.99 and you can order it here. https://www.amazon.com/dp/9535958178 Michael Daniels is seventeen and dreams to enter professional skateboarding contests. But beneath New Manhattan, a city under the oppressive shadow of climate change, exists another world altogether—secret laboratories which threaten society as he knows it. Those with power will get what they want. No price is too high, even if it means making someone special or robbing them of their dignity, freedom . . . or life. The price is too high for Michael, though. He has endured his stepfather's abuse and mind games for almost as long as he remembers. Until one day he takes matters into his own hands, ruining the lives of those he loves most. And his skateboarding friends, Alien and Victor, are his only hope for freedom. I hope this blurb is catchy enough for you to get your copy or buy it as a gift for someone else. The book cover is beautifully designed by Dean Cole and I guarantee you, you will love it. Dean's design is mind-blowing. He perfectly portrayed the spirit and the theme of the novel. I don't doubt that holding this book in your hands will give you a special reading experience. Please don't forget to leave an honest review on the platforms below and recommend it by word of mouth. Amazon.com paperback and eBook Amazon Australia eBook Amazon Canada paperback and eBook Amazon UK paperback and eBook Goodreads paperback and eBook If you are a representative of the media, please click here for the press release. BJ Original post: https://www.bernardjan.com/post/cruel-summer-paperback

All I wanted to do is to publish this book. But I had other books plans before that one. After many years of preparations, testing, trial and error, waiting and burning excitement, Cruel Summer launch day is here, and the eBook is available at Amazon marketplaces! Cruel Summer is a gripping, unexpected, strong, and emotional YA cross-genre story about an abused teenage boy and a poet in New Manhattan, Michael Daniels, who only wants to skate and enter skateboarding contests, and the loyalty of friendship that stands as the shield between those with power and his freedom. Michael's skateboarding friends, Alien and Victor, are his only hope when things go wrong and mysteries and secrets start to unfold, threatening to turn their society into an authoritarian dystopia. Because when there is no hope left, friendship is what remains. All he wants to do is skate. By they have other plans for him. Cruel Summer has elements of family and social issues, extreme sports, conspiracy, murder, mystery, teen romance as a subplot, and even sci-fi and dystopia as a touch of alternative history. It carries a strong message of friendship. Although the main protagonists are three friends, skateboarders from New York City at the end of the millennium, Cruel Summer is not just a novel about extreme sports. It is a deep story of a family and sexual abuse, and the exploitation of power by those who have the means to use it over the individuals and the population in general. Having a strong human rights and environmental message, it will also appeal to those who love reading these books. Originally published as Okrutno ljeto in Croatian in 2014, Cruel Summer is still a hot topic today. Please click on the links below to get your copy where you can also leave your honest review. Thank you for that! Amazon.com Amazon Australia Amazon Canada Amazon UK Goodreads BookBub Cruel Summer is enrolled in KDP Select, where you can read it for free. Through most of March, it will be at the discounted price of $0.99 before it goes up to its regular place. A perfect time to download your eBook! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08X6JZKRM Thank you all who helped me bring this book to life. There are too many of you to mention you here, but you have my eternal thanks in the Acknowledgements in the book. If you are a representative of the media, please click here for the press release. https://www.bernardjan.com/cruel-summer-press Cruel Summer and I are available for reviews, book tours, interviews. Cover design by Dean Cole. BJ Follow me on Twitter. Source: https://www.bernardjan.com/post/cruel-summer-ebook-launch-day-on-amazon

With the beginning of the new year comes the moment to announce my new book launch! And I start it with its cover and blurb reveal. I originally wrote Cruel Summer in Croatian over 20 years ago. By the end of February this year, I will release it in English. Cruel Summer is a Young Adult cross-genre novel with elements of social and family issues, teen and child abuse, extreme sports, conspiracy, mystery, murder and crime investigation, teen romance, sci-fi and dystopia. I hope I won't be distracted this time with earthquakes and other unpredictable situations and thus forced to postpone my release date again. Indie author Dean Cole did a fantastic job and made me fall in love with his stunning eBook and paperback cover. Working with Dean was a genuine pleasure. He is the fastest designer I worked with and he will professionally meet and fulfill your requirements before you are aware it is over. It took him only three days to deliver me such a brutally good book cover, as one of my friends commented it. Do I need to say more? Another indie author, also from the UK, saved me by helping me with the blurb for Cruel Summer when I was stuck with it. Jonathan Hill was my savior and magician also for the blurbs for my other two books, January River and Look for Me Under the Rainbow. This time again he did an amazing job, and I can never thank him enough for his professionalism, patience and kind help. Cruel Summer Blurb All he wants to do is skate. But they have other plans for him. Michael Daniels is seventeen and dreams to enter professional skateboarding contests. But beneath New Manhattan, a city under the oppressive shadow of climate change, exists another world altogether—secret laboratories which threaten society as he knows it. Those with power will get what they want. No price is too high, even if it means making someone special or robbing them of their dignity, freedom . . . or life. The price is too high for Michael, though. He has endured his stepfather's abuse and mind games for almost as long as he remembers. Until one day he takes matters into his own hands, ruining the lives of those he loves most. And his skateboarding friends, Alien and Victor, are his only hope for freedom. When there is no hope left, friendship is what remains. Please show some love to Dean and Jonathan by following them on their Twitter and on Goodreads where you can also find their books. And don't forget to look for Cruel Summer when it goes online and becomes available on my Amazon profile. BJ Original post: https://www.bernardjan.com/post/cruel-summer-cover-and-blurb-reveal

The gawsy gentleman wore a Saville Row suit, brilliantly polished black patent leather shoes and carried a slender cane, more for effect than necessity. He grimaced. He was caught in entirely the wrong attire to blend into the splore of noisy reveling dock workers weaving their unsteady way down to the harbor where they intended to build a bonfire to celebrate mid summer's eve. Here in certain area's of the Scottish coast, the old Celtic rites still continued to override the newer Catholic traditions. He sighed, it might have been the 20th century, but this group of stevedores was no better than any other mob of rioting celebrants for centuries past. Disheveled in appearance they followed the same routine of the last ten years. There had already been some minor skirmishes between the partiers. Several of them had lost their distinctive caps and considering the strength of the crews who loaded the ships, he wondered how many would end up in his emergency room before morning. Observing more closely, he saw torn shirts, and holes in the knees of their jeans. There was a whole catalogue of black and blue bruising from falls, and in some cases unnoticed bleeding because they were too soused to understand they were injured. Those were minor. He expected one or more would fall from the pier, some onto the beach where the usual broken bones would challenge his orthopedics team. The less lucky might fall into the water, he'd had one each year, who'd nearly drowned. He pulled out his phone to talk to his charge nurse in the emergency clinic. He knew his patient records would become another essay exploring the ravages of too much drink, and a lack of crowd control. Once again the town's constabulary had chosen to withdraw and let the union men have control of the streets. It only happened twice a year, now and on New Year's Eve, but some of his patients would barely recover from this drunken debauchery before the next big splore exploded through the town's streets. The town's police chief had told him more than once, these uncontrolled celebrations were the price they paid for good help on the docks. They would continue no matter what his opinion, but still he knew there had to be a better way. Again he sighed, having ordered his staff at the hospital to gear up for the injured. They wouldn't come in till the wee hours of the morning, when the constables finally ventured out of their station house to clean up the mess of unconscious bodies scattered on the beach. He ran down his own routine checklist, hoping he had the supplies right. Disinfectants, tools to remove splinters from the most embarrassing places, sutures to close the worst of the gashes they'd inflict on themselves; those were the most critical. He whistled tunelessly, spinning his cane as he strode toward the small hospital. At least they wouldn't have to go far to get patched up.

(this image by the amazing artist Pierre Abraham Rochat inspired today's story) I was the happiest kid growing up. Or at least that's how I remembered it - it's nearly impossible to focus on all the negative memories when you grow up in such a beautiful place as I did. The beauty is subjective though. There's always a lot of crap - literal shit - when you live on a farm. Crap from chickens, crap from pigs. There's dust everywhere, a side effect of having dirt roads and rickety vehicles that throw up the dust as they churn their way slowly down the road. The early mornings are cold, with dew settling on every surface like a layer of humid skin. There's no mistaking it, life on a farm isn't like what the fairytales describe. After all, who wants to write about the nuances of everyday life? But it was these moments that rounds out the scene, fleshes out the tale and grounds everything in reality. So I'm doing you a favor by telling you about chicken shit. This isn't a fairytale hamlet, this is the real place where I spent a good portion of my life, and I kind of miss it - the dirt roads and early morning dew and all, but not the shit. The summer heat was unbearable. The sun seemed like the heat source of a furnace, casting golden rays that baked the clay by the tiny river. The ground cracked under the heat, like the yellow crust of pies, dusted over by the dust like a layer of flour. the adults sweated under the sun as they planted and weeded the crops. From a distance the scene is picturesque - quaint, if you will - the image of rural life straight from the pages of a National Geographics magazine. Close up it's the scent of sweat, the buzz of bugs from the fields, and the way that clothes stick to sweaty bodies. The very air tasted of warmth, it draped heavily over the people in the fields, and pressed oppressively on sweltering trees. The occasional breeze offered some relief as it churned the heavy air, lifting sweat soaked clothes and whisking away the blanket of heat that enveloped the figures bent over the fields. By late summer even the air itself has a golden tint, dyed the same hue of heavy yellow as the sun's rays. The crops are finally readying for harvest as they slowly turn the same shade as the sunlight they've been soaking up. Everywhere you look there is a sea of gold, shifting in the yellow colored breeze. The tips of the plants move in synchronized waves, the ceaseless motion as they bow under the grazing touches of the wind creates ripples on that vast golden ocean. A thousand swaying plants shuffled their leaves and whispered to each other, and the sound of their voices scratched the air as they narrated the sway of yellow waves. The dragonflies are especially busy this time around. They hover over ponds, occasionally a tap at the water will cause circular ripples to break the calm surface. Startled by its own distorted reflection, the dragonfly darts away, the rays from the high noon sun glinting like golden sparkles from their shiny bodies. But perhaps the most memorable, and the place that made my entire memory of summer yellow, was the field of rapeseed tucked just under the shade of a hill. Their bright yellow flowers looked almost unrealistic, so strong was their color that the field of flowers looked like spillage from an artist's palette. I can still see it now, just behind my eyelids, that picturesque field, that unmixed yellow, and the thousands of yellow petals like specks of oil paint dropped over the greenery beheath And here I am, an entire continent away from that field of yellow flowers, from the golden air that colored everything it touched. I miss that yellow colored memory of summer, the scenery that accompanied me as seasons changed. But I know too late that it will never be as it was, because even if the scenery didn't change, I know that I did. I'm no longer that same child chasing the sparkle of light bouncing off of dragonflies, no longer am I that kid who traced shifting golden waves before harvest. Who am I really? I could never give an answer. What I do know is that what is lost is lost forever. But least in my memory of summer I preserve that moment the yellow rapeseed flowers bloomed, bright as a Van Gogh painting, and swaying in an eternal summer breeze.

One day I set my yellow bike by the steps, and scrambled into the house. Momma gave me a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich pie, the kind that she made by cutting off the crust with the peanut-butter jar lid. It was a sweet-smelling summer afternoon, and the heat was softened by a gentle breeze. I straddled a kitchen chair as I ate my sandwich pie, and gazed lazily out the window. Suddenly, without much warning at all, the skies seemed to completely fall out with pouring sheets of rain--and the sun still shone! The sun caught and twinkled in the rain, it peeked through the curtains of rushing droplets, winking and blinking; and it glistened on my bike. In my lazy trance, I found myself completely mesmerized with the rain on my bike. Tiny rivulets ran about the tilting handle bars. Balanced sideways as it was against the steps, my bike jiggled slightly with the slapping impact of the fat raindrops. And then, just as I had found myself hoping, the back wheel spun ever so slightly, almost reluctantly, like a mill wheel, with wet little drops half-heartedly fluttering off to the side. Then the wheel spun slowly back and rested, as if its work was done. And it was done, because just as soon as the rain had come, it was gone.