It was the summer of ’67. What a summer it was. I was the head lifeguard at Conference Point Camp. The camp was known as a family vacation spot on the shores of Lake Geneva. But it was that summer and the romance that followed that stands out in the memory even after all these years. Time has a way of healing broken hearts. And yet I kept thinking about what could have been. Back then my future was pretty well planned. But sure enough, the unexpected always has a way of interrupting one’s path in life. That unexpected encounter happened so fast, it blew my mind as they say. His contagious smile held me captive in ways I can’t explain. It was like a trail, so fixed in each of his movements. When people say that love at first sight is a rarity at the best of times, however, I could tell a mutual affection almost instantly.

For two short weeks we were next to each other. The night before the next morning under a moonlit sky we walked hand in hand as our feet slid across the sand. The gentle waves rolling on the shore matched the rhythm when lovers’ hearts beat. When we kissed goodnight I never knew it would be the last. She slowly walked away saying goodbye. That glow kept me warm all night. The morning after the rain continued to fall. The call of duty waved me down. Although no swimmers went down into the lake, I sat waiting as the rain bounced off the lake when the news reached me that my love was gone. Not a word, not a trace. Her family had left in the middle of the night.

The rhythm of the falling rain hid my tears of anguish, grief and pain. The heartbreak when I was so sure our love would last tore me apart. The relationships that followed for the next five years were all cut short by the memory of that love from that summer of ’67. Over time, the heart healed, but the memory of him still lingers in conscious thought.

Over 50 years later, looking back, I was blessed with a life that has known the ecstasy of love and the agony of heartbreak. For me though I walked away from that summer of the great love that never was. I still think that when you are young the desire to fall in love only stimulates the spontaneity of his actions and in most cases blinds you when the unexpected happens. Remembering that morning after has stayed with me even after all these years. And, when it rains at dawn, the early light always brings me back to that summer of a great love that did not last.

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