Today (which will post tomorrow) is the apparent arrival of fall. It has been a strange year where trees and bushes were never quite sure what color to be or how many leaves to hang onto. Nevertheless, for those leaves that are left, change is now upon us. Our backyard serves as the window on the world. Only yesterday, if you are a steady reader, it was dry, calm, and sunny. Today the drizzle began, the humidity became solid, and the temperatures dropped 15 degrees. Save for the rain, it is still a nice day but the change portends the pivot to cold soon enough.
The bellwether for some of this is again my tennis group. A number of our steady players are snowbirds and their vehicles are idling in the driveway as they schedule their temporary relocations in the very near future. While they will shift to a new outdoor season, we will shift to occasional tennis in a bubble in the near future if at all.
Today was a busy day. I am working through the bureaucracy of government with some filings I am in the middle of. Beyond that, I am looking forward to a get-together with a wonderful circle of friends who have introduced me to the wonderful world of Scotch and other distilled spirits. We will be getting together this weekend upcoming as fall continues its takeover. Each of us brings a bottle consistent with the theme and then we share a bit of each and solve the world’s problems and enjoy an evening of male bonding. What a fine group to do it with I must confess. I drove over to my favorite spot to shop for liquor, a store buried in an ethnic neighborhood of St. Paul in the same building since 1915. Morelli’s is a fixture on the East Side of St. Paul and I like to do my part to support a nice independent business.
I also made a brief stop at a community book sale. While I did find some wonderful books that will come in handy as the weather stiffens, the best part of the trip was running into a friend who I have come to know. J and his wife are stalwarts of our local community whether it be the Arts Council, Historical Society, Friends of the Library support, or what have you in support of our town. Without them, there will be a gaping hole in all of the good volunteer things that get done in my Town of Rosemount. J and I had a nice conversation as we often do and I always feel refreshed after even a short chat. I think if I have time tomorrow, I may just go and browse books again. J’s wife asked if I would be willing to put up a non-political yard sign and I readily opted for it. I believe public libraries are one of the very best examples of goodness in society. Most of us would do well to spend a little more time in one, even if just for a slice of solitude.
I’ve returned to my government filing and making slow but steady progress. Fortunately, I have baseball on in the background. Astros and Red Sox in the 8th in Game 4 at Fenway. One element of writing is THOU SHALT NOT REPORT SPOILERS. Who knows in the age of DVRs if someone out there is taping. It just seems right and proper to be watching baseball in October. I think it is safe that by the time this releases tomorrow at 7 pm the whole world, even the baseball apathetic will know what happened. It sure seems in the playoffs thus far that the American League has great run production and the National League has better pitching top to bottom.
So at the end of the day, without a truly specific topic, I am left with all sorts of music ideas. Here is an upbeat tune about the library which your children or grandchildren (depending on your age) may enjoy. After listening to the aforementioned song, I will warn you that if you listen to it a few times, it may become an earworm. For those of you whose interests shade toward baseball, perhaps you will like this one better.
18+
I just love community and library book sales. I just can't help myself when I see one.