A DREAM OF SUMMER

There’s little to recommend Sydney Pollack’s 1995 remake of Billy Wilder’s sparkling 1954 comedy Sabrina—starring Julia Ormond, Harrison Ford, and Greg Kinnear—other than the sublime score by legendary composer John Williams, a work of elegant beauty that even makes subtle musical allusions to the main Rachmaninov-inspired piano theme (“Rickshaw Boy”) from Wilder’s 1960 masterpiece The Apartment.

Over the past few hot weeks, I’ve enjoyed listening to this soundtrack while dreaming of an Edward Hopper–style New England summer near Cape Cod—where the gentle swaying of hammocks, the fresh scent of cut grass, and the distant sound of tennis balls being hit to within an inch of their fuzzy lives all combine to create the perfect scene in my mind. Not to mention the sight of distant sailboats with cloud-like billows lining the shimmering horizon, while yachts remain anchored close to port as sunlight bounces off their white gelcoat finish.

And as I've dreamed on, sailing around the Cape and down the coast, I've found myself enjoying an F. Scott Fitzgerald–style summer near Westport, on the southern shore of Long Island Sound—where fizzing champagne being poured into tall flutes, accompanied by the happy murmur of busy chatter and laughter, creates a Gatsby-esque atmosphere of elusive, green-lit dreams beyond the harbour.

Needless to say, I'm currently sprawled on my couch, having exhausted myself breaking a bag of ice to make an espresso martini—wondering where everyone has gone.

What is this summer madness?