The Autumn Leaves

Some scattered thoughts...

• Okay. Even I have to admit the weather has been gorgeous here lately. Even though it's not hazy, hot, and humid. And even though several times I've been cold. Beautiful, clear crisp autumn days. Perfect for... --what else?-- sitting out on the porch of Starbucks enjoying a latté and a cigar.

•I didn't think it would ever happen, but it's happened. I figured out a place to wear my Utilikilt. Careful readers may remember that when I reluctantly plopped down my plastic to purchase "the kilt that made Seattle famous," I was filled with buyer's remorse even before the charge was approved. "Where in the name of all that's good and holy am I going to wear this?" I wondered. And so, lo these many years, my Utilikilt has hung in my closet.

But next friday, Doylestown will be celebrating their second First Friday. Bunches of businesses, restaurants, bars, the Classic Cigar Parlor, and Starbucks (my mainstays) stay open late, put merch out on the sidewalk, and the streets are filled with folks. Lots of live music all around town. A great time. Actually, a really great time. A joyful carnival atmosphere pervaded everywhere. And one of my favorite Starbucks kids spent the night in a chicken outfit. (How cool is that??? Very!) So to join in on the fun, I'm going to wear something fun and special. Like my Utilikilt. I think the kids will like it. And I think it strikes the right note.

•Several times over the past couple of weeks, I've had this vague, wistful feeling steel upon me: I wish my sister was still alive. Especially now, autumn, Hallowe'en and all, she really loved this time of year. And she'd be so much fun to hang out with. But, of course, she's not.

•I am still feeling all bliss-y and float-y from Inferno! Still! Here's the best I can do to describe it: I feel as though I've been emptied out, as though someone (that would be Roadkill) pulled the plug and let a bunch of stagnant water out of the bathtub that is me. But, at the same time, I feel full. Complete. Sated. Content. Wanting nothing. Hungry Ghosts at bay.

•Tonight, I'm heading down to Philadelphia to attend a party given by my buddies, Datt and Male. Really looking forward to it. I'm making my stepmother's Baked Pineapple. The wheelbarrow full of butter and the five pounds of sugar are all ready to get mixed up and baked into a nice, sweet, starchy pineapple goodness. I swear, it makes grown men cry. It sure got raves at the GMSMA holiday social a few years ago.

And, at the back of my mind, I'm wondering if there will be a nice eligible bachelor there. Someone with that winning Outlaw Biker look. Someone omnivorous. Someone happy. Someone who smokes cigars. Someone with an unspoilt wilderness of hair on his face. Such men are rare as unspoilt wildernesses in these parts, but still, maybe...

•I'm not drinking. I mean, I'm not Not Drinking. I'm just not drinking. I noticed that when I have even a beer, I just feel crappy the next day. And this from the guy who awed the upperclassmen as a freshman at college with my ability to put it away. They all were like, "Yeah, I wanna go shot for shot with him." Ahh, sing Ho for misspent youth!

•I thought up this ad campaign for the local Chamber of Commerce: "What's So Great About Bucks County?" Of course, I'm not going to approach the local Chamber of Commerce with this idea, because I'd be gleeful if they instituted a policy of shooting tourists on sight and did everything in their power to disuade folks from moving in and building McMansions. But, one answer to that rhetorical question would absolutely be "Hallowe'en!" Hallowe'en is HUGE here. I mean, already several lawns are littered with spooooky paraphrenalia of the season. And that's just going to build and build. The low-hanging-fruit of conversation starters at Starbucks is, "So, what are you going to be this year?" I, of course, have no answer to that, but I like the answers I get. So far, "A Family" is the best answer I heard, in which the other family members will be made from foam rubber soft sculpture.

Anyway. Time for me to get the Baked Pineapple in the oven.

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