August. Our summer is winding down. We need to make the most of the glorious days and evenings left. Come out to Movies in the Park on Friday, Aug. 9, 16 and 23. The Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center will be on hand with refreshments for all.

We will be selling drinks and snacks, just like the indoor movies do, but for a lot less money. The movies are free and the munchies are super reasonable at one dollar a piece. There will also be a 50/50 raffle drawing at the end of each movie, but you must be present to win.

So come out and enjoy “Sleepless in Seattle” on Aug. 9, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” on Aug. 16 and “Babe” on the 23rd. Movies begin at dusk in Waterfront Park, but if by chance it dares to rain on our fun, the film will be shown indoors at our Waterfront Park Community Center.

And how can we let summer go without one more ice cream social? Bring your family and friends for some old-fashioned fun on the patio of Huney Hall at the Waterfront Park Community Center at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 14. Remember, it is summer, so any calories in the ice cream will automatically melt off the spoon before it reaches your mouth.

I hate to see summer end. I grew up in a beach town on the East Coast, so it was always my favorite time of the year.

Summer meant days at the beach, digging in the sand and splashing in the ocean.

Of course, it wasn’t all idyllic. Summer also brought visits from Aunt Rose, who was determined to turn me into a polite young lady.

“Boys cross their legs at their knees, girls at the ankles,” she would constantly remind me. I still cross them at the knees.

“Children should be seen and not heard,” was another Aunt Rose command.

I continue to have trouble with that one too.

Aunt Rose also told me to respect my elders and I’ve always tried to follow that rule, but over the last decade it has gotten harder and harder for me to find any elders. Luckily, there is the senior center, where it is still possible, even for an octogenarian like me, to find folks older than I am. Three cheers for all our alert and active members who have passed their ninetieth birthday and are still going strong. I want to be like them when I grow up.

Aunt Rose is long gone and unable to instruct me anymore. My education these days comes from clippings that end up taped to my computer monitor. They seem more relevant to my present time of life.

For instance, here is a clear, concise explanation of the four stages of life:

1. You believe in Santa Claus.

2. You don’t believe in Santa Claus.

3. You are Santa Claus.

4. You look like Santa Claus.

Can you break it down any better than that?

Also resonating with me is the Senility Prayer: “God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.” In other words, a perfect day.

Best of all is this, clipped recently from a column in the Seattle Times: “A new study out of Penn State suggests that upon reaching the age of 74, it doesn’t matter much what you eat. That includes sugar, eggs, hamburger and [even] Twinkies.”

So, for those of us over 74, you can buy those drinks and snacks at the Waterfront Park movies, and go for doubles or triples at the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center Ice Cream Social, guilt-free.

Actually, everyone should buy them guilt-free. After all, it’s still summer.

Sorry, Aunt Rose. We’re too old to behave.