The Lost Art of Innocent Summer Fun

Even the most modern families can enjoy watching old- fashioned family classics like “That Darn Cat” from 1965. Image from IMDB
Every August for 19 summers, my family and I would pack up my grandparents’ car and embark on our annual family vacation to Rhode Island.
It’s been almost seven years since our last trip together, but I can still picture our favorite beaches, summer rentals, traditions and routines as if we’d never left the beach.
We lived for the days spent body-surfing, boogie-boarding and walking barefoot down the jetty. There was enough magic in those family vacations to make even the cloudiest days worth remembering.
On those days when the rain canceled our beach plans, you could find my brother and I trying to best our grandmother in Dogopoly (Monopoly with a dog theme) or defeat our mother in Kings in the Corner (a futile effort).
Before there were streaming services or even Netflix DVDs, our mom would take us to the video rental store down the road and pick out a few classics to keep us entertained. From the titles we watched and rewatched over countless summers, here are a few that today’s families might enjoy watching together.
“That Darn Cat!”
It’s been years since I last saw “That Darn Cat!” and I’ve been keeping the memory alive by singing the opening theme whenever I catch our cat, Eska, patrolling the house.
Anyone living in a small town might know an animal like DC (short for Darn Cat), the four-pawed protagonist of this 1965 classic — the kind of creature that goes sauntering around town, swiping food and finding adventure in unexpected places.
For DC, adventure strikes when he follows a bank robber home and finds that he and his partner-in-crime are holding a bank employee hostage. Inscribing a message on the back of her wristwatch, the hostage slips the watch around DC’s neck in place of his collar and sends him out into the world.
DC returns home to his curious owner, Patti (played to perfection by the iconic Hayley Mills), setting in motion a wily, watch-able investigation.
It’s the kind of feel-good family film that’s difficult to recreate these days, between the antics of an acclaimed cast (including Dean Jones and Roddy McDowell) and the way DC leads (and frequently derails) the investigation.
Still, as is sung in the film’s theme song, the cat’s “been paid every accolade / And he’s earned all his acclaim.”
“That Darn Cat!” is currently available for viewing on Disney+.
“No Deposit, No Return”
Another Rhode Island favorite that combined comedy and crime was the 1976 film “No Deposit, No Return,” starring Darren McGavin (best known as the “award” winning father in “A Christmas Story”), Don Knotts and David Niven.
Expecting to be picked up from school for Easter vacation by their mother, siblings Tracy and Jay are unenthusiastic when they hear they’ll be spending their vacation with their billionaire grandfather, who’s equally displeased to have to watch them.
At the same airport where the siblings are due to meet their grandfather’s butler, safecrackers Duke and Bert are trying to crack the airport safe. In their escape from the airport, they end up in the same taxi as Tracy and Jay, who’ve escaped with plans to reconnect with their mother.
Thinking they could benefit from one another, the children hatch a plan to write a ransom note to their grandfather with hopes of receiving enough money to allow them to fly to their mother in Hong Kong and to help the safecrackers pay off a gangster. Add a car chase, some judo and a pet skunk named Duster and you’ve got a crime comedy that’ll leave everyone laughing.
“No Deposit, No Return” is available to rent through Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
On Saturday, Sept. 6, from 12 to 5 p.m., Rock Steady Farm in Millerton opens its fields once again for the third annual Farm Fall Block Party, a vibrant, heart-forward gathering of queer and BIPOC farmers, neighbors, families, artists, and allies from across the Hudson Valley and beyond.
Co-hosted with Catalyst Collaborative Farm, The Watershed Center, WILDSEED Community Farm & Healing Village, and Seasoned Delicious Foods, this year’s party promises its biggest celebration yet. Part harvest festival, part community reunion, the gathering is a reflection of the region’s rich agricultural and cultural ecosystem.
Rooted in justice and joy, the event will feature over 25 local vendors and organizations, live performances, healing workshops, family-friendly activities (yes, there’s a bouncy castle), and abundant local food. And while the festivities are certainly reason enough to show up, organizers remind us the purpose runs deeper.
“This isn’t just a party. It’s a place to build the kind of relationships that keep our food system alive,” said Maggie Cheney, Rock Steady’s co-founder and worker-owner. “We’re creating space where farmers, growers, families, and community organizers can connect, celebrate, and support one another.”
Proceeds from the event support Rock Steady’s POLLINATE program for queer and trans BIPOC beginning farmers, as well as Catalyst Collaborative Farm’s food justice initiatives. With sliding-scale tickets from $5 to $250, the organizers aim to make the event accessible to all, including free entry for children under 12 and volunteer options for those who want to pitch in.
For those who’ve attended before, it’s a welcome return. For newcomers, it may just feel like coming home.
More info and tickets: rocksteadyfarm.com/farm-block-party
Waterlily (8”x12”) made by Marilyn Hock
It takes a lot of courage to share your art for the first time and Marilyn Hock is taking that leap with her debut exhibition at Sharon Town Hall on Sept. 12. A realist painter with a deep love for wildlife, florals, and landscapes, Hock has spent the past few years immersed in watercolor, teaching herself, failing forward, and returning again and again to the page. This 18-piece collection is a testament to courage, practice and a genuine love for the craft.
“I always start with the eyes,” said Hock of her animal portraits. “That’s where the soul lives.” This attentiveness runs through her work, each piece rendered with care, clarity, and a respect for the subtle variations of color and light in the natural world.
After painting in oils earlier in life, Hock returned to art when she retired from working as a paralegal with a goal: to learn watercolor. It wasn’t easy.
“Oils and watercolor are opposites,” she explained. “With oils, you build your darks first. In watercolor, if you do that, you’re in trouble.” She studied online, finding instructors whose approach clicked, and adapted to the delicacy of the medium.
“When I’m working, everything else falls away,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on in life. While I’m painting, time disappears.”
Her studio, formerly a home office, is now her sanctuary and the pieces in this exhibition are the result of three years of that devoted studio work. While this is her first full public show, Hock previously tested the waters at a small fundraiser at Noble Horizons, where one of her pieces sold. That experience — and the consistent encouragement from her family, especially her husband — pushed her to pursue a full exhibition. With gentle encouragement from her husband and family, Hock reached out to the Town Hall’s curator, Zelina Blagden. “My husband kept saying, ‘You’re as good as all those other people out there, why not show your work?’” And so, here it is.
All paintings in the show are for sale, though Hock admits a few are priced high — not because of their size or complexity — but because she’s not quite ready to let them go. “There are a couple I’ve priced high because I’m not sure I want to part with them. But we’ll see,” she laughed. “It would be nice to support the habit a little bit.”
As for aspiring artists or anyone hesitating to begin something creative, Hock’s advice is simple: “Go for it. If it fails, toss it in the basket and start over.”
The exhibit will be on view at Sharon Town Hall through Oct. 31 with an opening reception on Sept. 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
Carissa Unite, general manager of Oblong Books in Millerton.
Carissa Unite of Millerton, began working at Oblong Books 16 years ago as a high schooler. She recently celebrated her eight-year anniversary as the general manager.
Unite’s journey at Oblong began even before she applied for her first position.An avid reader from a young age, she was a frequent customer at the store. During those years, Unite bonded with a former employee who encouraged her to apply for a position after connecting over their shared love of reading.
As a teenager, Unite enjoyed reading Ellen Hopkins, John Green and Ann Brashares. With the busyness of adulthood, she now favors the convenience of audio books. In the past year, however, she has made it a point to read more physical books.
With a preference for contemporary fiction, she raved about “Atmosphere” by Taylor Jenkins Reid. The story, set in the 1980s, follows two women who become astronauts at a time when women were not widely accepted in the field. A beautiful love story emerges between the two characters. Unite described the writing as sensational and commended Reid’s ability to tackle complex themes without them being muddied.
Unite has developed a deep appreciated for classic literature. Her two favorites are “Giovanni’s Room” by James Baldwin and “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. She was amazed by the philosophical nature of both words and the way their dialogue challenged her perspective.
In an effort to read beyond her preferred genre, she recommends the following:
“Some Desperate Glory,” by Emily Tesh, “Midnight Rooms,” by Donyae Coles and “Clear” by Carys Davies.
For Unite, the beauty of reading lies in its power to develop perspective, empathy, and compassion. Through books, readers learn that everyone is fighting different battles and no two stories are the same. She encourages people to choose kindness because you never know what someone else is facing.
Above all, reading brings Unite peace. If offers transcendence to another world, a pause from outside noise, and for Unite, it is where she feels most at home.
For anyone hesitant to being reading, Unite suggests: just do it! Read 10 pages a day and find the book that speaks to you. Any Oblong staff member would be happy to offer recommendations.
Oblong is located at 26 Main St., in Millerton and 6422 Montgomery St. in Rhinebeck.