With the arrival of the school, it means the Summer of John #6 has come to an end. (This is where I would put one of those frowny-faced emojis, if I knew how to do that.)

Having a “real” job in education, free time tends to dramatically decrease when the school bell starts ringing. But as with all previous SOJs, this was one was a blast. Here are a few of the statistics:

** Played 378 holes on golf courses in five different states. My goal was six states, but somehow I didn’t put a tee in the ground in Texas. My bad.

** By my loose account, I traveled more than 3,700 miles, never going more than four days without a trip out of town.

** Saw a minor league baseball game for the first time in decades. I was stunned how things have changed since the days of the Shreveport Captains.

** I stood in awe on an empty high school football field in rural Mississippi and could almost hear echoes from almost 40 years ago.

Some of these I will write about soon and some I can promise you don’t want to read about, so I won’t subject you to them.

** But my favorite time — and something I will write about — was the day I spent in Assumption Parish. For years, I have wanted to re-trace the footsteps of my mother, who grew up in Napoleonville. I have so many memories of visiting now-deceased family members there. Figuratively, I went back in time. Literally, I was touched by personal emotions I never knew I had. I don’t know how much you’ll want to read about it, but I can’t wait to write about it. The problem? I worry that I can’t do it justice.

If ever I doubted the power of Facebook, the Summer Of John is proof. I can’t tell you how many times people asked me about it, where I was going next, or comment on a previous post. I know it’s just a take-off on a famous Seinfeld line, but the Summer Of John is truly is all about taking advantage of the time that is afforded you in the summer.

Time to get back to work.