Taking a walk the other day, I noticed that the Jacaranda trees in our neighborhood were in full bloom. Profuse panicles of violet-blue flowers that brightened the heart and the sidewalks and further enhanced the cloudless blue overhead. This colorful spectacle screamed summer to me, even louder than the recent heatwave or anything else I know.

The root of this stirring sensation reaches all the way back to my childhood in Vietnam, albeit with a different color then. From their sumptuous corolla to the fern-like leaves that adorn them, Jacaranda blooms have always reminded me of flowers of another kind: the bright red clusters that burst out on Poinciana trees all over the streets of Saigon at the start of summer. Along with the return of cicadas and their nostalgic song, those red blooms signified the end of the schoolyear for us kids and the arrival of the hottest and wettest season of the year.

This time last year, at the height of the pandemic, like all of you I was cooped up inside the house. It was a surreal time, the memories of which I’d rather leave behind. Fortunately, with the vaccine, things are improving, and once again the outdoors beckon. And on my morning walks, the Jacaranda blooms have never looked bluer or lovelier.

These words from Ralph Waldo Emerson come to mind:
“Live in the sunshine. Swim in the sea. Drink in the wild air.”

Have a Happy Fourth of July Weekend, everyone!