Trina Machacek: New older and older new friends

Here comes summer and all things summery. If that doesn’t put a big toothy grin on your face you need to buy your first of many watermelons to get into your summer groove. Ah watermelons. Just what in my world could connect watermelons and friends? Watermelons cross years of memories. Bringing about the thoughts of old friends that after years can become new old friends.

This summer for some unbelievable reason I will be going to my blankity blank year class reunion in Ely. Let me just say it’s somewhere between my 49th and 51st class reunion. But! Yes, a 50-year-old “but.” I can’t hardly wait to reunite with my classmates. Over the years I can’t wait to hear the life stories of the “kids” I graduated high school with. There are some that over the years I have kept up with. Friends for life. I have such a good friend that I have known since grade school, and I can’t wait to see her. After not seeing your friends that you had in another lifetime, you get to connect with and become new old friends again.

One of the cool things about going to a reunion when you seem to be a titch older than you were when you graduated, is that the forces of one-up-man-ship is finally gone. I am so relaxed at the thought of seeing so many classmates who I hope will become old – OK older new friends. As we the class of 1973 will never – never, I say – be old.

The connection of friends and watermelons? If I think back as far as I can remember going on picnics up in the mountains of Nevada. There was always a cool creek to play in and that creek also was the landing place for a big old watermelon that cooled as the day’s activities were carried out. Then! Oh, the afternoons were celebrated with the cutting of the melon.

It was cooled by the water and slurped with all the finesse of a herd of cattle that moves through a new pasture of grass grown up to their bellies. I can still see friends sitting on rocks by creeks eating big red watermelons and throwing the green rinds as far as we could up into the Quakies, the trees that were always shimmering in the sunlight. Those old friends are what summer is all about.

Of course, and you should know that here I am just referring to stories I have been told. Wink. Wink. As I grew up other picnics caught the attention of me and other friends in summers in eastern Nevada. There were many watermelons that had a plug cut out on one end or on one side of a melon then that lucky watermelon was “enhanced” with some sort of liquid libation. The thing here is that when that happened with the plugs put safely in place, those melons were also put in a creek somewhere to cool until it reached just the right temperature to be enjoyed. Friends sitting on rocks next to creeks eating the red goodness and throwing the green rinds up into the Quakies as their leaves always shimmered in the summer sunshine. Those events are what summer is also all about. After years apart we can have and enjoy older new friends and remember past good times.

How lucky are we that over time we have gotten to come in contact with such a variety of people. Recently I ran into someone that I knew long ago. He is what would be considered an older new friend. It’s such a surprise to me when someone knows me.

More so it is such a pleasure to talk of then and now in life. I have this thing in myself that makes me walk up to someone, put my hand out and say, “Hi. I’m Trina.” That opens great opportunities that may be otherwise missed. Oh, I have been told that it is not the norm. HAHA I am not now, nor have I ever been one of the “norms” of the world. I don’t think I would have had the conversation I had with this nice man had I not stuck out my hand. It was lovely.

I guess what I am trying to say here is that between watermelons and handshakes and summer we have opportunities to eat, meet and greet. So. Go. Do. Be. Enjoy as many watermelons as you can this summer.

Trina Machacek lives in Eureka. Her books are available wherever you buy books or email her at itybytrina@yahoo.com to buy signed copies.