Summer Sun

Summer is in full force and bees are busy. There’s no better time than a heat wave to share some thoughts with you. The last few weeks of crystal clear skies, delightful rain storms and temperatures in the 70s and 80s were almost dreamlike. However, just after the July 4th fireworks, the 90s and beyond have arrived. As my brother often says, it seems the faucet gets turned off after Independence Day.

Unlike those who love the heat of summer, I tend to wilt and get kind of floppy. I tried to prepare myself by taking my daily walk even earlier. As I was drinking in the morning coolness yesterday, I stopped on the corner at the little Free Library. I chose a couple of novels and then noticed a few children’s books. Blues Clues wasn’t for me but I discovered The Mystery of the Ivory Charm by Carolyn Keene, A Nancy Drew Mystery Story. It’s a newer hardback version in great condition and easily readable size.

I spent the day staying cool by my fans and following Nancy as she discovered the secret life-giving power of the exquisite ivory elephant charm, reunited a maharaja with his long-lost son and brought the evildoers to justice. I was transported right back to my childhood when I likely read almost all of the mysteries. Maybe I should have been a detective?

Although the first story in the series, The Secret of the Old Clock, was published in 1930, the series ran until 2003 and included 175 novels. Other revisions and series have continued to the present and in total more than 70 million Nancy Drew books have been sold. What an amazing body of work! And the writing still appeared quick and fresh.

The experience definitely made me forget about the heat wave and reignited my long-held dreams of becoming a novel writer. Perhaps now I’ve reconfigured those dreams to unlocking some of the secrets of the spiritual life and putting them into words here. It’s a lot like detective work, after all.