“Tra la, it’s May, the lusty month of May! That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray.” This lyric from the song “The Lusty Month of May” from Loewe and Lerner’s popular musical “Camelot” sets the tone for one of the year’s most flirtatious months.
The explosion of colorful flowers, the sudden allure of decorated trees, the preparations for all those June weddings, the fragrance of love and warm days, romantic nights, offer a heady ending to spring as June and summer await in the wings.
When Ron and I were married forty-four years ago, on May 23, it seemed to me like “Camelot” had come into my life.
Now May beckons another great event as my family awaits the birth of Jessica and Ricky Abejuela’s baby. He will be my third great-grandchild, and I am as excited about it as a squirrel in search of a huge basket of walnuts.
May is filled with so many emotions and so many special events. We have already enjoyed May Day, and the excitement of Cinco de Mayo, which celebrates the victory of the Mexican army at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.
Another fun fact about May 5is that Americans spend over $600 million a year on beer that day. That is more than on any other day, including Saint Patrick’s Day and the Super Bowl!
We just recently celebrated the special day dedicated to Mothers (Dads, no worries, your big day is coming next month.) Days of tribute and honor are ahead with Armed Forces Day, which honors the US Military, and, of course, the poignant Memorial Day. We will visit those significant days in another column.
May is thought of as the bridge between spring and summer. For students, teachers as well, it is getting close to the starting gate of summer vacation and, of course, graduation! Businesses across the broad United States are preparing for the much-awaited travel season to help with their yearly income.
The musical announcement of the ice cream truck is heard across the land. My daughter Leslie, who lives in Santa Cruz, shares with me that it is the time when her fellow residents keep close to home as swarms of people from the other side of the hill invade the popular beaches.
May is known for other things as well, like, ugh, spring house cleaning time! Your broom and mop may seem to go into a dither of excited anticipation.
May is also the month for awareness of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Mental Health Awareness and Jewish American Heritage Month. It is also Be Kind to Animals Month, which is especially important to me as a huge animal lover.
A day that, in my youth, was a big event has just passed. I am speaking of that day which honors huge hats, mint juleps and the high pulse rates of the watchers of the Kentucky Derby. I am happy this piece of nostalgia still exists with all its romanticism of the South.
In my youth, I belonged to a horse-riding club, the Boots and Saddles in Michigan. I rode a beautiful Arabian called Narkena. Every year, the members of the club dressed up as if they were down in Kentucky amongst the gentry. The women wore huge hats, what a competition that was! A huge meal was catered, and of course, the drinks of the day were Mint Julips, full octane and mock. My brother Jeff and I loved that day when all the adults acted like kids in dress up, and we ate like our stomachs were adults.
I am a big one for traditions. They tie people and generations together. They give our lives some structure at times when life may seem a bit chaotic. I still honor the old rule about not wearing white until Memorial Day.
My mother would roll over in her grave if I did anything else. That is almost as bad as watching Christmas movies before Thanksgiving Day. I must admit I have been slack on that one. There is this darn channel that is showing them already, 24 hours a day, and with me so homebound these last five months, well, I admit, I have been bad. I am so ashamed.
Iced tea and lemonade are suddenly filling my fridge’s shelves, and grape popsicles have found their way there as well. I mean, summertime food is a world altogether different, right? BBQs take the place of ovens, and tablecloths lie on the grass for picnics, not tables. Come on, be honest, doesn’t the inner child in you come out about this time of year?
Beloved author, Emily Bronte, wrote of May: “May is the month of expectations, the month of wishes, the month of hope.” I think she has something there. The May air seems pregnant with possibilities. The sun seems to agree, leaving its warm, bright rays on until later, so we have more time to seek out those new possibilities.
I love this time of year because it seems all dressed up and ready for anything. At least in my mind, I am young again! Past memories rush over me, dreams once forgotten come back, which I entertain briefly, saying, maybe?
I have promised myself, Yogi and Lola Bunny that we will milk this magical time for all its worth like some midsummer’s night dream. I am sad to have missed one of my favorite May activities: the May Day Fair. My mind, however, is filled with over thirty rich memories of this grand event. I missed the corn dogs, the chocolate bananas, deep fried anything, snow cones, tri-tip, and, oh, of course, the cinnamon roll and the beer!
There is much more to the May Day Fair than the food, but you have to admit that the food is pretty darn good.
I love watching the livestock, petting zoos, looking at all the blue-ribbon winning excellence, playing all those games that you are sure you are about to win…well, maybe next time. Of course, one of the most fun things about the fair is seeing everyone and saying hello!
Like so many other things in Los Banos, I miss all of that. Luckily for me my memory works in technicolor! So take a deep breath, my friends, and ready, set, go. Enjoy May. You will not regret it!
Diana Ingram can be reached at DingramThurston21@gmali.com
