the Summer of 42

 the Summer of 42




     While Greg had a fine career as an Architect and worked his entire life without any bum periods I feel he may have missed his true calling. The man had an uncanny ability to recall and recite lines of dialogue from stage, film and TV scenes that strummed his heart-strings. I mean he could mesmerize our group when he was moved to repeat the  introduction to "the Fall of the House of Usher," or scenes from "Double Solitaire" with a deep emotional expression. I could ask him to answer a line from the underrated film adaptation of Moby Dick by saying "Was it not Moby Dick that took off your leg?" His face would redden like he was expressing angst and he would moan "Aye...twas Moby Dick!" We have heard before about his tavern recitation that caused his cousin Evan to be booted from the Sunshine Meat, Fish and liquor Company and suffer a lifetime ban but these performances were rare. Dutch courage might help but his monologues were delightful and never repetitive or boring. Once he started in we never interrupted or talked over the lines. He knew Poe very well and could do scenes from "The Cask of the Amontillado" or "the Masque of the Red Death" but his command of "the Iceman Cometh" or "the Death of a Salesman" were spot on also. He recreated accents and even emotional points in speeches including the gut-wrenching scene in  "All My Sons" that he shouted with a gasp of shame. However, this story is about one of our visits to the Midnight Movies in Westwood that were always great fun.The Crowds were young and stoned with the occasion offering us a chance to commune with our fellow cool people. It was fairly early in the 1970's and I was leading the young Greg astray by offering dexadrine and Lancers wine to  help us stay awake on a Friday night showing of  "the Summer of 42" probably at the UA. Greg had his eye on the film because the trailers kept showing the luscious Jennifer O'Neill who was every boy's dream woman. The movie really blew us away and the theme of World War II home-front nostalgia connected with our imaginations since we knew some of the stories from our own mentors. It turned out to be one of those movies that touched the romantic soul of Greg and he went to see it a couple times more while mooning over the older woman and love-struck kid romance. Being a young swain himself I guess it spoke to his longing for a relationship. In those years we were obsessed with being romantic heroes but Greg used to say the lines slowly and with feeling that were at the end of the film  "I was never to see her again. Nor was I ever to learn what became of her. We were different then. Kids were different. It took us longer to understand the things we felt. Life is made up of small comings and goings. And for everything we take with us, there is something that we leave behind. In the summer of '42.." 


 

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