As you know, faithful readers, I love to reminisce about the summer days of my Buffalo childhood, filled with daily trips to the neighborhood swimming pool, games of kickball in the street, and popsicles on the front steps when the sun dipped low over the Niagara River. But this month I’ve decided to write about summer memories of a different time of life, unique to Buffalo only in their intensity.
I’m speaking here of summer love.
Yes, these steamy affairs happen everywhere, but it is difficult to underestimate the impact of the long Buffalo winters on romance. Gazing upon a potential love interest dressed in a sweater, jeans, parka, gloves and the obligatory Buffalo Bills knit beanie, does not exactly send the heart aflutter. Come summertime though (defined by some Buffalonians as temperatures above 40 degrees Fahrenheit) the clothes come off and the city comes alive.
After about eight months of cold and gray, summer seems to happen almost overnight. All activity moves outside and suddenly there are people everywhere. Seeing all that flesh after so many months of bundled up darkness makes the heart race, the palms sweat, the hormones jump, and, well, you know the rest.
When I was a young teenager, our social scene was at the Massachusetts Swimming Pool. We would bring our transistor radios, lay our towels by the pool, get the juices flowing listening to songs like “Wild Thing” by the Troggs and “Hello I Love You” by the Doors, and dream of being dunked by the hunky guys who actually had chest hair at age 15 (in our ethnic neighborhood, we were blessed with more than our fair share of these fine specimens). I swear that summertime smell of suntan lotion, chlorine, and warm concrete had an aphrodisiac effect on our young libidos. (If I could figure out a way to bottle that smell, wouldn’t I make a fortune?) Add to that the shirtless guys playing basketball next to the pool and there is little wonder summer “attractions” happened quickly, and frequently.
Once in college, the mating scene moved to beach parties by the lake, picnics in Delaware Park, outdoor concerts, and when we reached legal drinking age, to any one of Buffalo’s many bars. If you had no luck by 4 am when the bars closed, you could always try again at a late-night food stop like the Mighty Taco (although the morning after might be even more embarrassing after a few bean burritos).
Yes, the summers are “hot” in Buffalo, but as songs, movies, and TV shows affirm, summer flings (the kind that “don’t mean a thing,” as they sing in “Grease”) are a phenomenon everywhere. So I wondered if there was something more than cold winters that prompt this, i.e., a scientific reason why people are so attracted to each other during the summer months.
It appears there is. Scientists say that when skin is exposed to more sunlight, our bodies produce dopamine, serotonin, and MSH (sometimes called the “happy hormones”). Warm weather apparently tells our mammalian bodies that our period of hibernation is over, to move outdoors, and as the blood quickens, to start searching for ways to sate our appetites. The visual stimulation of summer, of course, cannot be overlooked. Meeting someone on a beach in a bikini, or jogging shirtless and sweaty in the park, is more likely to lead to amorous arousal than working on a term paper in the cold Buff State library.
Do summer romances ever last? Well, that depends. If you find that you are attracted to more than your love interest’s bronzed body, that you enjoy talking to each other as much as, um, other things, then yes, they can last. But until you see your summer sweetheart looking up at you lovingly, in that parka and Buffalo Bills cap while shoveling snow, I wouldn’t make any commitments.
Have you ever had a summer love? Did it last? I would love to hear from you in the comment section, below.
Moxie Gardiner is a writer, gardener, and traveler who grew up on the West Side of Buffalo, NY. In a previous life she was a journalist, magazine editor, speech writer, and policy wonk. Back in the day she made three solo parachute jumps, flew in an F-15 fighter jet, and crawled through mud pits at the Jungle Operations Training Course in Panama. She now meditates and practices yoga. She is almost ready to publish her first novel, set in Buffalo.
This is so timely for me. We drove past Hoyt Lake last night and at 8 pm people were still having picnics, strolling, hanging at the playground and there were jugglers, bikers, joggers—just people wringing every last bit of fun from our limited summertime. And that’s what I said to Matt—you’ve gotta love Buffalonians—we seize every fleeting summer moment we can. I didn’t think about romance at the time, but for sure it’s a perfect seize the summer moment scenario!
Yes, carpe aestatis tempore! (That is, “seize the summer moment,” in Latin.) Thank you Jessica. I think that will be my new motto.
My summer romance hit me when I turned 16. Crystal Beach was our summer playground. The most popular song was “Love letters in the stand-by Pat Boone. When I said my summer romance hit me I meant it. He was over six ft slim with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. We spent the summer walking the beach, swimming and “necking” dancing at an out door place called the “Swing Inn” innocent but very exiting. The memories can still move me to this day. By mutual agreement we parted at the end of summer, knowing it would be a summer romance to remember for years to come. My summers in Buffalo and Canada were all really memorable.
Thank you Dee, for sharing your story of summer love. Those days were innocent, but powerful too in their intensity. Sometimes just a whiff of something like the smell of those suckers at Crystal Beach takes me right back there…
Thanks for the memories of the places you mentioned that were a part of my youth, Moxie. Massachusetts pool, Delaware Park, etc. Memories of summer romaces and relationships too. When I was 12 or 13 in 1970 or so we parked our 24 foot camper at a campground in Chautauqua Lake and used it as a summer home. For the next 3 years or so I got to meet beautiful young women there from all over; NY, PA and Ohio amoung other places. Some had trailers parked there permanetly and some were just camping for the weekend or week with their families. It was a target rich enviorment for me, so to speak. The thing is that during the winter I would correspond with the more “permantent” out-of-state girls I knew back then. I did so the way it was done in the old day; that is through the lost art of hand-written letters. I really learned to communicate through writing that wasn’t compelled by school. I could not wait to get a reply in the mail from them in Ohio or Pa. and write back. I met some wonderful young ladies in those days. One I took to my Junior H. S. prom, and another I took my Senior H. S. prom. Great gals who I cherished and admired and who helped me hone my written communications skills that would come in handy much later in college, and in life.
Thank you John, for your comments. It sounds to me like you made the most of those summer romances! Not only did you lock in prom dates, but you honed your career skills! I love Chautauqua Lake and plan to visit this summer–not for romance this time, but for the beauty of the place.
My summer loves were usually on the shores of Lake Erie, mostly at Thunder Bay where our family’s summer cottage was. There were lots of gatherings at the beach, both day and night, walks to the creek, sailboat rides, dances at the club house and gatherings at others’ cottages playing lots of cards . There were also many trips to Crystal Beach, the ice cream stands and Bonfires on the beaches, dates to the Falls for a stroll and miniature golf. Let’s not forget the Drive- Ins and the Quarry at Windmill point. So many fun days in my teenage years in Canada. Thanks for reminding me of summer memories. It is so different there now with homes populated by Canadians! How dare they take over their own country! Most of my 4th of July celebrations took place in Canada too! 🇨🇦 🇺🇸
Oh yes! Crystal Beach, Fort Erie, the quarry, and let’s not forget those Canadian guys! Thanks for adding to my storehouse of summer memories, Elizabeth. How could I forget the good times on the other side of the lake!