What happens in Eugene in the Summertime

Katie D.

July 12, 2010 - 10:19 PM

This city is a strange combination of empty and busy during the summer. Most of the college students clear out, so suddenly there are extra parking spaces on campus, free tables at the near-campus hangout spots, and an alarmingly short list of the normal crowd around to call. But at the same time, there are music festivals, Saturday market craft fair/farmers market days, and a general overflowing of sunlight and natural beauty after months and months of rain.

Almost enough to get a bike-o-phobe out on some wheels to see the town.

So here's to my summer success #1 (...dramatic drumroll, please...) I have started riding my bike.

Now, if you've been following me for a long time, you'll know this isn't a small statement. Bike riding has been a lifelong fear/general no-go for me. But it's gorgeous outside and it turns out that you can see an awful lot of the city really quickly if you've got a good bike to dash around with. If you're not crippled by fear.

So last week I put on my helmet, carefully wheeled my bike out of the backyard, and went for a ride. It isn't a habit yet, and I'm still a bit afraid I'll tip over every time I saddle up, but it's a real improvement. A whole new world of transportation awaits.

Another great thing about all the heat and beauty is that it is the perfect time to lean back, relax, and read a novel. Preferably outside, with trees overhead and grass under you. My weekends have involved quite a bit of this recently, making up not only for the months of rain, but also for the long, long stretches of nose-to-the-grindstone homework and thesis writing. I'm what you might call a chronic bookworm, and have been known to stay up until all hours of the night reading, only to wake up early to finish a book. It's a family thing: the women in my family read like we dance or eat ice cream. It's part of the joy of living.

Perhaps I'll put up a list of summer reading later. For now, I'll just say that I've torn through eight books since the summer has ended, and I've enjoyed it hugely.

I've also encountered a whole new genre: the graphic novel. I have to admit, I was highly skeptical at first. For those of you not in the nerd world, a graphic novel is like a long comic book. Much of the story is told through the use of art and graphics to express the nuance and mood of the action. The most famous example currently is Watchmen. I'm halfway through that one, and think it's incredible. But I've read three others already, and am really excited about the new genre. Some are far from comics: I read one called Stitches that is a nonfiction memoir about a boy's troubled youth and the history of trauma and family instability which he escaped from.

When I first started reading graphic novels, it was kind of like reading a short, fragmented book. I would read all the words on the pages and then go back to look at the pictures, the way you might do when reading a child a picture book. But a friend of mine patiently showed me how to look at each panel to see the way the words and pictures interact, and how I'd been missing half the story in my rush to read the words.

Now I might be what you'd call addicted. How long has it been since I had a new kind of book to read?

As a final answer to the question "what happens in the summer," I'll diversify a bit. Summer means a new routine, a new way of filling time. In my house, it means being outside a lot because we don't have air conditioning and it gets darn hot in here during the day. It means being by water if possible, preferably the Willamette down by the Autzen Footbridge. It means watching movies, heading out of town for weekends, cleaning house and emptying file cabinets. It means lots of wonderful local fruit.

Also, it means changing the people you hang out with. And that means new activities. I'll have some video up soon, but for now just close your eyes to set the scene. Imagine a beautiful, hot day, with trees overhead. A bunch of people scattered on the lawn in my backyard. Listening to music. Turns out that music is coming from a fabulous live band: Big Tree, stopping by my backyard on their way across the country, straight to us from New York City, with 30 gigs in 35 days in between.

It was great. They were great. The lead singer went to elementary school with my roommate's friend. And so we had a band in the backyard.

That's what happens in the summer: inexplicable and exciting things. Stuff you might not have time for in a normal school week, and activities that need a lot of sunshine and space. People coming together to fill in the corners in normal Eugene social lives. Bands in backyards, bicycle riding against all odds.

It's a good summer so far. Hope yours is as well.