MILLEDGEVILLE — “Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, Those days of soda and pretzels and beer. Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer.”

Ah, you can almost picture the great Nat King Cole performing this summertime classic back in 1963. And it certainly seems as if we have settled into the lazy, hazy days of summer — crazy I'm not so sure about.

The summer doldrums have sort of set in and word of entertainment events in the greater Milledgeville area have pretty much gone down to nada.

The Milledgeville Players are working on the musical “Once upon a Mattress,” which will play Aug. 18 -22 in Russell Auditorium. And the MVP website should be up and going very shortly. Hey, I'M excited!  

You can bet that as soon as the new official spider-web site launches, this column will let you know, along with all the wonders and beauties that it will bring.  

Meanwhile, I've been trying to get info regarding live jazz in our local community. A while back, I spoke with Jon Joiner at Amici Café. You may recall that not long ago, the Jon Joiner Quartet brought magnificent combo jazz to downtown Milledgeville on Tuesday evenings. But, for various reasons I won't go into (maybe some other time), it came to a halt.  Local aficionados of Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Stan Getz went into mourning.

But, in my more recent conversation with Jon, it seemed as if the possibility existed of jazz starting up again at Amici on Tuesday evenings. Possibly on a smaller scale at first, and then hopefully expanding.

I haven't been able to get confirmation of this yet (I know ...”walk over to the place on Tuesday evening, genius”) but if I do, I will pass it on to all of you Bix Beiderbecke fans.

Actually, I have heard “rumors” of live jazz sounds emanating from a few other local establishments in recent weeks. If there is any truth to these rumors, please let me know. As many music and theatrical events slow down in summer, it would be a great time for me to give some publicity to any entertainment being featured around town on a regular basis.

So, is there anything else I can comment on in this week's broadside? Hey, I mentioned the Tuesday evening jazz as a hopeful event at Amici. You are aware of the other regular attraction on Tuesday's here in the Old Capitol city? It's the Farmer's Market.

Located on Hancock Street right around the intersections with Elbert and Jefferson, the farmer's market features a lot of dealers selling all sorts of produce, desserts, baked goods, beverages, etc. And there is often entertainment! Just this past week, a steel drum band was featured. Local bands have also appeared as well as characters from “Moon over Buffalo,” the Milledgeville Players' early June production.

It's a great way to support local farmers and entrepreneurs. And, speaking from personal experience, the produce is mighty fresh, mighty tasty and mighty fine. Its hours are from 4 to 7 p.m. So head on over.

Along with the Milledgeville Marketplace, there are many other ongoing attractions to check out. The Governor's Mansion is an architectural jewel for central Georgia. And along with basic visits, the Mansion offers a number of special tours by appointment. Give a call to (478) 445-4545 for more information.

Also not too shoddy on the architectural and historical level is Georgia's Old Capital Museum, located in the Old Capitol Building (what a coincidence!). The first public building designed in the Gothic Revival style, the museum folks have done a great job at putting together numerous exhibits through the years — including one a few years ago devoted to one of my favorite Milledgeville folks (though not strictly a native if that implies birthplace), Oliver Norville Hardy.

Those same folks also oversee the Brown-Stetson-Sanford House on West Hancock Street. Open by appointment, this house is a classic example of the “Milledgeville Federal” style with its columned double porch.  It has quite a history in its own right. And it served as a magnificent location a few weeks ago for the ale-tasting that finally came about after some dubious legal shenanigans from parties unknown.

Guess there's just somebody out there who has a grudge against the Old Capitol Museum Society (“bunch of history loving varmints!”).

And of course, there's Andalusia, Flannery O'Connor's farm, located off North Columbia Street.  Though I must admit, I'm still not the biggest fan of Ms. O'Connor's work, there's no question she made a major contribution to 20th century literature and is literally revered by many throughout the world.

In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I watched the premiere episode of a new show on ABC called “The Gates.” Almost 10 minutes of the show was devoted to a scene involving high school students discussing Flannery O’Connor!  It was really kind of wild!

Hey, maybe summer really isn’t the doldrums I painted earlier. It could be a great time to reacquaint yourself with some local attractions that folks come from all over the country to experience.

I’m reminded of an incident back in 1971 when I visited New York City for the first time, with my parents. We were getting ready to go up to the top of the Empire State Building and my mom struck up a conversation with the person standing next to her (as my mom ALWAYS did). The person turned out to be a native New Yorker who had never been to the top of the Empire State Building — nor had ever visited the Statue of Liberty or Radio City Music Hall. He wished us well and said “gotta try to see those places one day.”

Now I’m from Richmond, Va., which is FULL of historical sites. There are times, in fact, when you feel as if every square foot in Richmond has to have some historical significance. Yet there are tons of spots I never visited. So, take advantage of Milledgeville and the surrounding communities. There’s an awful lot to see — don’t leave it all to the “tourists.”

As for our opening lyric, “Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer,” would be the last top 10 hit for Nat King Cole, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard charts. I’ve always thought it’s a great tune and you’ve just got to love a song that rhymes “bikini” with “weenie.” Hey, don’t worry ... I know. It’s a family column.

“Just fill your basket full of sandwiches and weenies, Then lock the house up, now you’re set. And on the beach you’ll see the girls in their bikinis, As cute as ever but they never get them wet. Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, You’ll wish that summer could always be here”.

Catch you on the flip side.