There’s this thing in Saint Laurent, called the “little summer,” where the rain lets up and the sun comes out and it stays out for a month or so. Everything is lusher and yellows and greens and the roads get dusty again and women switch their umbrellas into parasols and it’s all quite nice I’ve heard.

And me and my pal Joie, we’ve been hearing the rumors: all the little ones saying, “it’s the ‘little summer’ monsieur!” And then we say “It Is!? I’m so happy! Have some popsicle!?” And we all share the popsicle I bought even though it can’t be sanitary. And then we get our bathing suits and we lay them out on our beds and we buy charcoal and we buy coolers and beer and draw maps to the beach and to the river. And then while we’re drawing, it gets dark and biblical out and then it rains in big wet warm sheets and everyone’s mad but I still kind of like it. So I go outside with the dogs and we roll around and jump in the water and mud and I come back and dirty up the apartment.

When it was Easter, Joie and I, we took a boat across the river to Albina and hired a taxi to take us to Paramaribo, because I got a little money from the government for rum and roquefort and cookies and dancing and such. And our hotel was great because the rooms were bare but it had a swimming pool and a billiards table and a bar and everything and that’s what counts. And Paramaribo is my favorite because they love old soul and Motown and it’s strange and nice and peculiar. The people are polite and the food is spicy and the beer is cold and the casinos are all run on drug money and the list could go on forever.

And when it was Easter we went to Mcdonalds because everything was shut up but Mcdonalds was open and inside it was like a hot night club at 1 PM!  And there was a young woman dressed up in an Easter Bunny costume giving out chocolate eggs and she looked really pretty because black people look really good in pink. And there was a DJ spinning hot tracks and it was all too much, so we sat under the statue of Simon Bolivar and peeled the foil off our eggs and tried to eat them quick before they melted from the sun.

And we met some good people in Paramaribo, because it’s a good place.  One of them had bought a sail boat and sailed around the world, and we were the same age and in my mind I kept thinking, “I’ve been going about this all wrong.” And so we took the afternoon and sailed down river with them and found a hub where all the other boats were. At the hub we all sat at big tables and drank Djoga’s of rice beer and I kicked around a ball with some children. When everyone else had left, we rode back out to the boat and took turns climbing up to the top of the mast and jumping off until we were all tired from the beer and jumping into the river current. I set up shop under the stars and looked up at all that moon and big speckled dark and I wondered about what I would do in a month or so, and about the plan but then I dozed off.

None of this has much to do with anything, except that here’s some free music for the ‘little summer.’ Email drunkensuitcaseblog@gmail.com or hit the Drunken Suitcase facebook with a gmail address so you can get the mix shared with you! It’s a good one. And if you do, write a note, maybe like this post, or maybe write some feedback, something you’d like to see more of. Which posts are the ones you like? We’re all in this together and we’re nimble and we like one another.

Take your shoes off now, and then run your bare feet around in the grass. Maybe turn the hose on and then make a drink and unbutton a little bit of your shirt. Maybe pull up your skirt a few inches, take off your pants. Open a window. It’s gonna get good and hot soon enough, at least for a little while, and it’s always best to be prepared.

Spring is in Full Swing! Drunken Suitcase “Little Summer” mix!

1. Bobby Womack- Fly Me to the Moon

2. Davy Graham- Goin’ Down Slow

3. Buddy Miles Express- Don’t Mess With Cupid

4. Country Gazette- Lost Indian

5. Bobby Charles- Take It Easy, Greasy

6. Canned Heat- On The Road Again

7. Bobby Whitlock- A Game Called Life

8. Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen- Tutti Frutti

9. Arlo Guthrie- Anytime

10. The Coasters- Down In Mexico

11. The Blues Busters- Soon You’ll Be Gone

12. The Monks- Oh, How to Do Now

13. The Band- Tears Of Rage

14. Miriam Makeba- Holilili

15. Lee Hazlewood- My Autumn’s Done Come