On Summer

chlorine:
the scent of
summer

I've never lived in a house that had a pool in the backyard. But I love swimming. I can't recall a time when I didn't like to swim. As a young boy, I remember trying to hold my breath underwater for as long as I could, in case the Russians invaded and for some reason I had to hide underwater. (Yes, I had an active imagination.) The Russians, of course, never came, but I will still push my lungs to the near-bursting point swimming underwater for the entire length of a pool.

For me, the smell of chlorine in my hair and skin is permanently associated with being on vacation.

It's the smell of summers past.
It's the smell of "school's out."
It's the smell of good times.