“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.”
I want snow and cold. They will be cause for hibernation by the elderly whose cars will then lie fallow in garages for the season. Yesterday was the worst. I spent what seemed like hours behind a driver going 20 then up to a high speed of 25. The line of cars behind me stretched for miles. Finally the driver turned right and went through a red light to a parking lot beyond. I figured he thought the light was optional. I breathed a sigh of relief until I caught up with the car in front of me, a car from Florida. That one was going so slowly I swear two walkers passed it on the road. I even think one of them was using crutches. A detour did me in as every car had to go my way. The one in front of me put brakes on at every curve, however slight, and took my exact route home. The cars, again, were massed behind me. We could have been a parade.
Rain is expected starting today then through the weekend. The sun was bright earlier but is now behind the clouds. It’s warm. I stayed outside a while and checked out my front garden. The mums planted last year have blossoms. I saw white, yellow and deep rust buds. My flowers are close to adorning the garden.
My daily life is almost back to normal. Last night I lasted until after 11 then woke up this morning at 7, the latest I’ve slept since my return. It is difficult to believe that a week and a half ago I was in Africa. Sometimes I even find it difficult to believe I actually lived in Africa, a place so different than here. When I’m there, every day seems perfectly natural: shopping in the market, greeting people in FraFra or Hausa, eating with my right hand and enjoying goat or plantain or rice with a few rocks, well, pebbles anyway, and constantly sweating from the heat. When I’m here, all of that seems more like a dream, something I conjured from a book I read or a movie I’d seen. But it isn’t: all of it is real, every wonderful day of my adventure.
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September 27, 2012 at 12:38 pm
The patio furniture is away, the leaves are changing as they tend to do rather dramatically in michigan, the outside of the house is being painted and readied, and my daughter and I saw a fabgear show by Peter Gabriel at The Palace last night.
Then, to my shock and (notmuchofa) surprise comes this Beach Boys announcement that affects one very famous KTCC regular..
“Three of the founding members of the Beach Boys have been unceremoniously dumped midway through their UK tour.
Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks were informed of the news via a statement issued by Mike Love – the band’s frontman and Wilson’s cousin – that the tour would be continuing without them.
Their places will be filled by Bruce Johnston – a second generation member – and a selection of session musicians.”
I can only look back with fondness to their gig on QVC/JVC which brought so much pleasure to so few. Mike Love good luck and farewell until the next need for BB Bucks. 50 Big Ones ? Not so much
September 27, 2012 at 6:22 pm
My Dear Hedley,
I need to winterize my deck so this weekend will spell the end of summer on the deck and all will be covered or stored.
I wonder if that famous KTCC regular has seen the news. It seems harsh to have heard through an announcement rather than a face to face.
Perhaps Mike wants all future QVC concerts to be his alone!
September 27, 2012 at 1:29 pm
We only have two cars that go so slow here, one is driven by a very old man. It looks like he is around 100 and he never drives faster than 31 mile/ hour no matter what he’s allowed to drive and then we have this woman. Today I could have hit her car since she never look before driving out on another road.
She must have realized how close it was so after driving the scaring high speed of 12 she then stopped by the side of the road and I could see how terrified she was 🙂 🙂 🙂
Rain all day today but I think we’ll get some sun tomorrow.
Have a great day!
Christer.
September 27, 2012 at 6:24 pm
Christer,
There are so many older people here that slow is common. Two women on my library board are 90 and both still drive. I was behind one of them once and slow doesn’t describe her speed well enough.
There comes a time when keys need to be taken away for the sake of the driver and other people on the road.
No rain all day!
September 27, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Hi Kat,
I think you meant fallow. Farrow is a whole other thing that ends up with litters of pigs. Oh, wait…
If you are out driving on a weekday in non-commuter hours, you will only find two kinds of drivers; crazy people and fearful people. Usually the fearful ones are old but not always. The fearful people only drive when they can’t avoid it. They drive in the middle of the day because they think there’s no one else out there. They don’t get much practice so they drive slowly and do stupid things.
The crazy people used to be normal people but now have jobs that require them to drive as part of their job. Sharing the road with the fearful people every day has the same effect as 90 days in a combat zone. After that length of time, they are clinically insane. 😀
It’s still sunny and lovely up here but it’s going to get cloudy and rainy sometime over the weekend. I bought some purple asters for the front steps. It’s a start.
Enjoy the day!
September 27, 2012 at 6:29 pm
Hi Caryn,
That’s exactly what I meant and what I said in my head when I was typing.
I am always amazed at the number of cars on the road during the day. I wonder if anyone works at all. You’re right about the fearful drivers. They are all as old as dirt. Many cars look driverless as the driver is so low in the seat that you don’t see anyone.
Most of the crazy drivers seem to favor the highway as they know the other roads have the slow, agonizingly slow, drivers.
No rain here either though it was predicted for late afternoon. it did get much cooler by 3.
September 27, 2012 at 5:41 pm
Kat:
Someday we will all be driving with our left turn signal constantly going.
Leaves are changing up here in NH, and by the time of your visit on Oct. 19th or 20th they may be past peak. Today was a brilliant blue sky, and now we too expect rain. Great–I just put a coat of stain on the pool deck.
It sounds like Caryn is in NH or Maine. It would be interesting if all the commentors could identify where they live once in a while.
NFL refs are back–no more high school refs in the pro games. Now they will be making over $200 grand a year (August thru January). I’m in the wrong business.
September 27, 2012 at 6:32 pm
Bill,
I figure that time is coming but I’m not anxious for it to arrive.
I’m sorry I’ll miss the leaves, but I am stuck with engagements the first two weekends which is actually unusual for me. Usually I have Sunday breakfast, and that’s about it.
Those refs were horrendous during the Pats game. Bill shouldn’t have grabbed the ref but I totally understood his frustration. That’s a hefty salary for 6 months work, once or twice a week at best.
September 27, 2012 at 9:49 pm
Bill, I’m in MA a bit north of Boston. Leaves are just starting to change here though it seems a sudden change to me because everything was green when I left for DC last thursday.
September 27, 2012 at 7:11 pm
Oh, sunday drivers on a wednesday…
Fortunately you don’t meet them often in big cities, as they are too fearful.
The craziest car traffic I saw was in Greece, every sign and light seemed to be optional. But no less crazy was the bike traffic in Utrecht/Netherlands in a summer with a major singing event. I’m an experienced cyclist, but that traffic was beyond belief. The first day in Utrecht I was the one who disturbed the traffic flow.
September 27, 2012 at 7:15 pm
Birgit,
Around here every day is Sunday or so it seems. Luckily, the winter comes, and many of them go south or just stay home.
I don’t know if I’d have the courage to tackle a crazy traffic city on a bike. I’d feel as if I had a target somewhere on me or the bike.
September 27, 2012 at 9:39 pm
In Florida there are people driving in their 90s. Many of them drive no faster than 20 mph because they look through the steering wheel. It’s the land of the perpetual left turn signal. According to the Tom and Ray Magliozzi, (Click and Clack the Tappet brothers), you know you are Italian when you are seven years old and you are taller than your grandmother.
Since I am left handed and I always eat with my left hand, would this be a problem for me eating in Ghana? When I was in China I never saw anyone except me using chop sticks with their left hand. I stuck out like a sore thumb.
September 27, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Bob,
We too have drivers in their 90’s; I serve with two of them on the library board, and they drive to each meeting. I was behind one of them once and wanted to scream.
I was sorry when their show ended. I loved their humor.
Left handed is a big problem in Ghana as you can’t use your left hand to eat. It is the hand used in the toilet so it is taboo for using with food. In the Middle East, where you also can’t use your left hand, thieves used to have their right hands cut off. They were then doomed to eat alone as no one would share their food.
September 28, 2012 at 8:36 am
Growing up we had two drivers in our town. One straddled the white line as he slowly mosied along. Usually he was heading to SF for groceries. He was asked once why he drove that way and he replied that it was the only part of the road he could see. The other gal was a toot along too. Except when she came to a corner, she would floor it a just fly around the corner and hit the brakes when she got by it to continue on slowly. I heard she did that so as to get around the corner before someone came from the other direction. Both were aggravating to follow.
I mentioned these two to my father one night at dinner. He said, “you got a license but no car and could use some practice. Neither of these folks really want to drive but have to go to the Falls for things like appointments and shopping. Think about asking them if you could drive them.” I did and both were more than happy for the help. Each tried to pay me but I just wanted the experience.
Reading everyone’s comments on the colors makes me wish I could be there to see them. Well, maybe that will happen next fall. I hope. Fall here means another few sand storms and cooler temps. Barely gets to 110F here now and its still heading down. Mornings are in the mid 80’s and evenings about the same. I’m told we have about two more months until it muds, errr… rains. Can’t wait.
Carl
September 28, 2012 at 8:40 am
Sorry I forgot to say I’m in Kuwait. I grew up on the VT/MA border on RT 112, just about 7 miles north of the Mowhawk Trail, scenic route (read crowded with tourists nearly all summer, and nearly unbearable during mid Oct).
Carl
September 28, 2012 at 8:41 am
Carl,
Your father was a wise and generous man to realize that you and those drivers would help each other. That said, the excitement and the exasperation, though, was gone from the road! They added a bit of spice to the day.
The changing colors bring cool, bordering on cold, nights and mornings. The leaves are beautiful and salve just a bit the knowledge that winter is coming.
I could hardly wait for the rainy season as it was far cooler than the dry with its over 100˚ weather. The best time was the harmattan when the nights felt cold in comparison to the days. I never though I’d be chilly at 70˚.
September 28, 2012 at 8:43 am
Carl,
My friend and long time roommate grew up in Shelburne Falls, and I used to visit her in the summer (she rented out her Cape house). I know what you mean by the tourists (I guess I was one). I would never have ventured that way in the fall.