Sunday, September 29, 2019

Is Autumn Approaching?

This is the first time I have felt a chill in the air, a sleepy haze settles around the trees, too many leaves, dried up and brown, blanket the grass. The sky light fades way too early in the day.  I reach for a sweater to keep warm.  I grab a wool blanket and a good book to brace me for the coming fall that is inevitable. 

Last night I curled up in my down comforter and surrounded myself with piles of pillows to ward off the cool dampness.

Usually I love the fall, with its trees dressed in ochre, yellow, red and orange, a time of transformation.  A time to stack cut wood in the shed in preparation for fires at night for cheer and warmth.

Then I have to check the larders.  Are there canned fruits for winter, tins of beans, tuna fish and bags of rice and flour?  A January pie made of canned peaches can remind me of summers past, like fading friendships not detailed memories but a brief moment of freedom as the smell of peaches baking gives me hope.

We will no longer deal with 90° days, sweltering under the sun, and drinking iced tea by the glassfuls. Shorts and t-shirts are folded and packed away and fleece jackets come to the front of the closet for easy access.

The sun comes up later and drops way too soon into the horizon. Are moles, rabbits and squirrels holding up in burrows as defense against rain and snow? Somehow snuggling up with a sleuth of bears sounds comforting.

 

Thursday, July 4, 2019

RobertaSue and karaoke

Blame it on the full moon but I can honestly contribute it in large part to RobertaSue who has a few cylinders short of an engine most of the time.  At times she gets her Mad Hatter hat on, you know the black bulbous one with the pink ribbon, and bright orange curly hair and goes bar hopping downtown dressed in her Rita Hayworth gown, the orange one with white lace cascading from her shoulders down to the V-neck.  That girl has no shame when it comes to her attempts to sing karaoke at Flattery’s on Saturday night.  She signs up for at least six numbers including the Peggy Lee renditions of "Fever" and "Is that all There is?" and then moving on to "What’s Love Got to do with it?" trying desperately trying to imitate Tina Turner.

I used to be embarrassed by her saloon singing antics but I got used to it after a while once I learned she was not the only person making a fool of herself.  But surprisingly she attracted quite a following of folks who found her an usual local folk hero and Flattery’s would get standing room only when RobertaSue was being featured.

Mistakenly she got it into her head that she was really good and started bragging about the crowds she would draw.  It annoyed me a bit that she thought she was talented in that direction. In truth she is a good school librarian and the kids loved her but her aspirations were higher, madly searching for a glamorous life which in reality was rather a staid quiet existence.  I guess I shouldn’t hold it against her.  What is the harm in dressing up in a ridiculous costume and traipsing around to the local watering hole to belt out a few favorite tunes?  After all it only happens once a month on a full moon. 

And come to think of it I have to give her credit, she loves music, can’t carry a tune but it brings her extreme happiness to entertain the audiences who come see her.  Better to let her live with that illusion.