Today is a truly ugly day. It is a rainy, dark day. I can hear drops hitting the barbecue. A wind blows the leaves. From my window, I can see the yellow, orange leaves turning and spinning. There will be fewer still hanging after the storm. My house was cold when I woke up, down to 63°. I turned on the heat. Now my house is comfy. The dogs are sleeping, Nala beside me and Henry on my bed. They live the good life.

When I was a kid, I liked a rainy afternoon. I’d snuggle in bed, the light over my headboard lit, and I’d read. I always had a book. After I’d get my allowance on Friday, I’d walk uptown to the Children’s Corner, a clothing store which had a bookcase in the back where they sold Whitman Publishing Company books. The books were only 49 cents which worked out perfectly as my allowance was 50 cents. The change was worth one penny candy. Whitman published Tricia Belden, a girl detective. I liked her more than I liked Nancy Drew as Trixie was a regular kid. During the week, I’d often walk to the library after school and take home as many books as I was allowed.

When I was in high school, we’d sometimes go to Revere Beach. It had rides, games, bars and restaurants. We’d ride the roller coaster and the round ride that went fast in circles and sort of plastered you against the wall. We’d eat a hot dog or a slice of pizza. We never played any of the games. What I liked the most were the lights. All the outside railings of the roller coaster were lit with white lights and the cars too were lit with lights. I also remember how loud the cars were clicking and clicking on the track. Corners were brutal. There were no seat belts, just a rail in front of the passengers to hold them inside the cars. I remember the anticipation as the coaster chugged up the first high hill. We knew what was coming. The downhill was really fast especially around corners. We all yelled. A few of the intrepids held their hands above their heads. I didn’t.

Sunday we have a uke concert. We also have one on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Add practice and my lesson. That doesn’t leave much time. When will I nap?

This entry was posted on October 16, 2026 at 12:33 pm and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.