This morning I noticed a few red-yellow leaves on a tree over the deck. Fall has announced its arrival. The season is changing. The days are still warm, but the nights are chilly, perfect for sleeping. The daylight is less. Night comes quicker. Summer is having its last hurrah.

When I was a kid, the change in season meant a change in wardrobe. The mornings were chilly so my mother made us wear a light jacket for the walk to school, but by afternoon, the jacket was too warm. I used to tie it around my waist for the walk home. I remember in the afternoons the sun slanted a different way than it had all summer. After school we played outside in the shadows.

My mother always bought Oreos. They never lasted long. She’d pack them in lunches, and we’d grab a few for snacks. I used to separate the sides. I’d eat the plain side first then scrape my teeth across the white before I ate that side. My sisters used to eat the white and feed the cookies to Duke, our dog. I still love Oreos, double stuffed is my favorite, but I am also partial to chocolate covered Oreos. I think they are my favorite cookie.

I grew up with television. I knew all the theme songs, and I could sing along with all the commercials. All of them seemed to have their own catchy songs. I remember Chew Chew Charlie the engineer who powered his train with Good and Plenty. Bucky Beaver was an orthodontist’s dream. He pitched Ipana, a toothpaste. The Kool-Aid Man broke through the door. I still don’t understand why. My mother never bought Kool-Aid. She said it needed too much sugar. Cigarette commercials were the most common. They sang and danced their way cross the small screen. My parents smoked Pall Malls in the red package. They were unfiltered. I remember my mother picking pieces of tobacco off her tongue.

I have had an empty dance card for a few weeks. I am the sloth queen. I have been resting my leg, and I have also been bored. My house is quiet. I watch TV or I read. Every now and then I nap on the couch. The dogs usually join me so it a fight for space. I usually lose. I hope to rejoin the world next week starting with uke practice on Tuesday. It is time.

This entry was posted on September 4, 2025 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.