The rain has started, but it has been light. The forecast is for rain all day into tomorrow. It has been a long while since the last rain. This storm is welcomed.

My week has been busy with more to come. Today and Saturday I have concerts, but tomorrow’s concert has been cancelled, and I’m glad. Four in one week plus practice and a lesson is a bit over the top.

Life is filled with mysteries. Some are never solved. I was a part of one yesterday. I was on the mid-Cape, on my way home from my concert. I was moving along until I hit bumper to bumper traffic. It was slow going, start and stop, start and stop. Finally the traffic broke. I looked around. There was no accident, no hapless speeder stopped by the police and no car disabled on the side of the road. Why it was bumper to bumper is the unsolved mystery.

When I was a kid, the best part of Thanksgiving was the two and a half day school week, and Wednesday was a bust. We got out at 10:30 and spent the morning mostly coloring turkeys and making one out of a Dixie cup for the body and construction paper for tail. That became a Thanksgiving table decoration.

My mother always bought an enormous turkey which I swear we ate for days and days, even weeks. It defrosted in the sink. My sisters and I remember my mother waking up in the wee hours on Thanksgiving to get the turkey ready. She made her stuffing first. I still love her stuffing. The key is the Bell’s seasoning. The Bell’s box which looks old, from an earlier time, has never changed. The turkey on the front looks like it belongs in the oven, plucked of course. It has long been a New England tradition but is now available all over. Before my sister could buy it in Colorado, we had to send her some. I remember the turkey cooked for hours. My mother would baste it, and when the oven opened, the aroma made my mouth water, and I’d beg my mother to give me a bit of the stuffing, hanging out of the turkey and crusted on the end. The windows steamed. The kitchen was hot.

My Thanksgiving memory drawer is overflowing, filled with the sights and smells of all those Thanksgivings of my childhood with my mother always the biggest, the most prominent part of all my memories of Thanksgiving.

The morning is partly sunny. It is a still morning, not even the hanging leaves are moving. It will again be in the 50’s during the day and the 40’s at night. Winter has yet to hold sway.

Henry is driving me to distraction. He goes out the dog door but still won’t come back inside through the door. He stands with his face peering through the door, and he cries. He even bangs the door a few times with his nose. I try to stand my ground and not open the door for him, but I don’t always succeed. I try to entice him by showing him treats, but that doesn’t usually work. My, “Come on, Henry,” doesn’t work either. I don’t know what happened to make him nervous coming inside. Henry does have several phobias.

Today is a Ghana day. I was looking through the pictures last night and was flooded with memories, small memories, mostly insignificant memories which I somehow remember.

I remember the flight with a stop in Madrid for refueling and a new crew. We got off the plane for a short time until we were quickly herded back to the plane. We mooed. When I got back on the plane, my seatbelt was stuck. I never did buckle my seatbelt. The new stewardess asked us if we wanted breakfast or more drinks. We opted for the drinks. Before we landed, a stewardess went up the aisle giving us the rest of the nips from the cart. I saved mine for the longest time. I remember in the terminal watching the crew buy leather and beaded goods at the stalls in the airport. Pan Am flew the Ghana route, but we had flown in a TWA charter so the crew was in Africa for the first time. I remember the welcome and toasts with warm Fanta, orange Fanta. I fell asleep on the bus ride to Winneba, our first training site. That first night, Peace Corps gave us a welcome party. 

In Winneba I saw my first palm tree, rows of palm trees. I remember we all went to greet the chief of Winneba. It was customary. I wondered what the Ghanaians thought watching so many white people, well over 100, walking down the street to the chief’s house. We were an odd sort of parade.

Training lasted nearly three months, and those first two weeks were the hardest. They are front and center in my memory drawer of that summer. I will never forget.

Today is like yesterday, sunny, clear and in the 50’s, still fall. The nights, though, have started to feel like winter, in the 30’s. My blanket is back on the bed. The dogs huddle beside me at night, Nala under the covers. We all fall asleep cozy and warm.

When I was a little kid, my mother decided when it was time for winter coats, when layering wasn’t enough. We all dreaded that day. The coats were heavy. They didn’t fit in the cloak room. We had to either zip or button our coats at the end of the day which took time and concentration. I remember sometimes, when I zipped, one end hung lower than the other, a zipper failure. Buttons were just a bit easier.

My school was old. The classrooms with their high ceilings were always a bit chilly. Radiators on the back wall hissed and steamed. The windows fogged. I wore a sweater over my uniform. We were allowed. I wore knee socks and sometimes pink underwear which went to my knees. We still had recess on cold days. We huddled in groups. We tried to stay warm. The end of recess bell was welcomed.

I don’t wear a winter coat. I do have one, but it sits in the closet waiting for the next ice age. My winter wear includes hoodies or a fleece top or a really heavy sweater, saved for the coldest winter days. I like my mittens better than my gloves. They keep my hands warmer. I have hats but don’t often wear them. My favorite is one from high school, one a friend’s grandmother knitted. My next favorite I bought in Peru. It has ear flaps. I bought it because when I got to Peru it was winter. I also have a few scarves. My favorite is red. I wear it just for the color.

I’m envious of bears. All summer and fall they get to eat and drink nonstop. They need to gain weight. I’m always trying to lose it. They get to sleep all winter. I aspire to do that.

Today is dump day. Perhaps I need a banner for my front lawn.

Today is just like yesterday and the day before: sunny with a light breeze, a deep blue sky and in the mid 50’s. It’s a pretty morning. For today, I have a small, easily accomplished, to do list. I have bird feeders to fill, a kitchen floor to sweep and a hall to vacuum. The trash sits in the trunk waiting until tomorrow when I’ll go to the dump.

When I was a kid, uptown was filled with stores. It was about a fifteen or twenty minute walk from my house, but I usually rode my bike unless I was going to the movies. I’d walk my bike in the square on the sidewalk so I could check out the store windows. I loved the fish market window where lobsters were in a pool in a sort of aquarium. They were walking around on the bottom. The lobsters were blueish with a bit of orange on the shell. The bakery, about in the middle of the square, had a great window with baked goods and breads. Through that window I could see the ladies behind the counter, always ladies, and the shelves behind them filled with bread. I always wished I could buy a cupcake, a chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting. I was never one for vanilla cupcakes. The movie theater had posters on the side walls by the entrance, but they were the night movies, not the matinees. The window where I spent the longest time looking was Woolworth’s. Sundry is how I describe it now. It had notions, sewing stuff, a few toys, socks and some dishes. The window changed with the seasons. The Christmas window was the best. Down from the square just a little way was the fire station. In the summer the firemen sat outside the truck bays on wooden chairs just taking in the sun. I always stopped to chat a bit. From there, I’d sometimes stop at the town stable then ride through the school yard to go home. I always thought of it as a short cut.

I’m watching a really bad movie. Five people in their twenties are staying in a camper in the woods which had belonged to one of their uncles who disappeared two years ago. That spooked the other people. On their hike, they heard noises and one heard screams. Now, back in the camper, they are discussing aliens and probing. They found newspaper articles the uncle had saved which claimed a connection between aliens and trees. Really bad is probably being generous.

Today is another lovely day, warmer than it has been. The morning light is squint your eyes bright. Shadows dot the trunks of the oak trees. The blue sky shows through the leaves still on the branches. It is a day not to be wasted, a day to be out and about.

My dance card has just one item, a concert today, but I do have a list. I always have a list. I need to go to the dump. I need to vacuum the mounds of Henry hair in the hall which fly into the air when I walk to the kitchen. I just had a weird memory jump into my head. In Ghana, what is called the hall is what we call the living room.

Fall has always been my favorite season. When I was a kid, I loved the colors of the leaves, especially the yellows and the bright reds of the maples. I loved walking on the piles of dead leaves in the gutters and hearing the crunch as they crumbled underfoot. I remember cool mornings and warmer afternoons and layering for the walk to school. The streetlights came on early in the afternoons. That was my only complaint.

Being a kid was easy when I was growing up. School on weekdays and church on Sundays were my only responsibilities. I never minded school, but I wasn’t a fan of going to church. I remember sitting in a pew in the back, close to the exit, so I could make a run after the Pax Vobiscum. I’d sometimes sneak a book in my pocket to read during the mass. I think I looked devout. Back then it was a Latin mass, and all we saw up front was the priest’s back as he stood at the altar. I remember the pews were filled every Sunday. The older women wore real hats. The younger women wore mantillas and even Kleenex held by two Bobby pins. I wore the mantilla as I could stash it in my pocket.

We were the duck and cover generation. We’d practice crouching under our desks with our hands and arms covering our heads in case of a nuclear attack. I really had no idea what a nuclear attack was. I just figured whatever it was I’d be safe under my desk.

Yesterday was downright cold, and when the wind whipped through, it made the day feel even colder. It was a fleece day, an acknowledgement to the coming winter. Today is a pretty day. It is in the mid-40’s with a bright, bright sun. The few red leaves and the pervasive brown leaves on the oak trees shine in the light. We still have a wind.

When I was a kid, I loved walking to school in the mornings. We lived on a hill. Across the street from the bottom of the hill was a huge field, a tended field with baseball diamonds. I always thought of the field as a shortcut so I’d cross it to get to the sidewalk on the street which led to school. The sidewalk was long, the whole length of the street, and was interrupted only by the railroad tracks.

When I was growing up, the living room was where we spent the most time. The TV was there in a corner. We’d sit on the rug close to the set and watch it. We never went blind. In the late afternoons, my mother would be in the kitchen making dinner. In my mind’s eye I can see her standing by the sink peeling potatoes. The stove was behind her. The fridge beside her. The kitchen was small. We always had potatoes. My father never had supper with us. He’d get home late from work. He was a salesman. I remember a photo of him coming in the front door. He is wearing a fedora and a top coat, the unofficial men’s winter wardrobe back then. Both were black.

I didn’t question much when I was a kid. I went to school every weekday, played outside if I could in the afternoons, watched TV, did my homework, ate dinner, watched more TV then went to bed. I was never bored. Kids seldom were.

The sun and the blue sky pushed away the earlier morning clouds, but I don’t know how long they’ll be around as cloudy is the forecast. It is windy. All the high branches are being blown. I can see the leaves falling. It is 54° but could get down to the high 30’s tonight. Right now it is a perfect fall day.

When I was little, my mother used to read to me. She told me I loved Golden Books. She said I could name all the animals in the circles on the back covers of the books. I was smart she told me, parental exaggeration I suspect. When I got a bit older, my mother switched to reading to us, to my brother and me, books, chapter books before we went to bed. I always hated it when she’d stop for the night, and we had to turn out the light. When I could read by myself, I’d read in bed until my mother told me to turn off my light, but I didn’t really turn it off. I’d hide the light under the covers so I could keep reading. Sometimes I got caught.

When I was growing up, I was never really girly. I grew out of dolls early except for that dancing doll I got for Christmas one year, the one whose feet you attached to your shoes with elastics so you dance together. I always wanted trains, but they were boy presents. I did like new clothes but nothing too fancy, usually sweaters and a skirt or a pair of ski pants. I always wanted books for my birthday and for Christmas, and my mother never disappointed me.

In Ghana, I wore a dress every day. At first I wore the dresses and skirts I had brought with me. I remember a purple dress, a white blouse and a wrap-around skirt with flowers. I’m sure I had more clothes, but I just remember those because I seem to be wearing them in so many of my pictures from Ghana. I also remember a zippered sort of house dress. It was black with white designs. I wore it every night after my shower. All the clothes were new. We had shopped in Hyannis for clothes and other items from the packing list sent by Peace Corps. We got most everything on the list and managed to reach the 80 pounds of luggage allowed for the flight.

Right now I’m watching the very first episode of The Lone Ranger. He has donned the mask made from the vest of his dead brother, a Texas ranger, killed in an ambush by the Cavendish gang. He and Tonto just rescued Silver from the buffalo ready to gore him.

On my dance card is mostly uke events. I have my usual practice and lesson and also three concerts. It will be a busy rest of the week.

This is my traditional post for Veteran’s Day.

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918, World War I ended. This day became known as “Armistice Day.” In 1921, an unknown World War I American soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Similarly, unknown soldiers had been buried in England at Westminster Abbey and at France at the Arc de Triomphe. All of these memorials took place on November 11th to commemorate the end of the “war to end all wars.”

In 1926, Congress resolved to officially call November 11th Armistice Day. Then in 1938, the day was named a national holiday. Soon afterwords war broke out in Europe and World War II began.

Soon after the end of World War II, a veteran of that war named Raymond Weeks organized “National Veterans Day” with a parade and festivities to honor all veterans. He chose to hold this on Armistice Day. Thus began annual observances of a day to honor all veterans not just the end of World War I. In 1954, Congress officially passed and President Eisenhower signed a bill proclaiming November 11 as Veteran’s Day. Due to his part in the creation of this national holiday, Raymond Weeks received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Reagan in November 1982.

In 1968, Congress changed the national commemoration of Veterans Day to the fourth Monday in October. However, the significance of November 11 was such that the changed date never really got established. In 1978, Congress returned the observance of Veterans Day to its traditional date.

National ceremonies commemorating Veterans Day occur each year at the the memorial amphitheater built around the Tomb of the Unknowns. At 11 AM on November 11, a color guard representing all military services executes “Present Arms” at the tomb. Then the presidential wreath is laid upon the tomb. Finally, the bugler plays taps.

Each Veterans Day should be a time when Americans stop and remember the brave men and women who have risked their lives for the United States of America. As Dwight Eisenhower said, “…it is well for us to pause, to acknowledge our debt to those who paid so large a share of freedom’s price. As we stand here in grateful remembrance of the veterans’ contributions we renew our conviction of individual responsibility to live in ways that support the eternal truths upon which our Nation is founded, and from which flows all its strength and all its greatness.”

My friends left yesterday afternoon so I’m back. With them, it is always as if we had seen each other the day or week before. We laugh a lot. We eat great foods that Peg always brings. We take rides along the ocean. On this visit, we went out to lunch. We stopped at a new place, the Maritime Museum in Hyannis where even I had never been. We took our time with the great exhibits and watched for a while a boat rocker building class. As for the dogs and my company, Henry stayed away a bit but then warmed to Bill and allowed patting. As for Nala, there are no strangers, just people to jump on and lick.

My house always feels empty after people leave.

Today is colder, in the low 40’s. The sun is so very bright, the sky a straight blue, but cloudy is the forecast. I have no list for today though I could be clearing spiders’ webs. They seem to be everywhere, across door ways, around chair legs and from frond to frond on my plants. I need to walk round carrying my duster.

My dance card for the week is uke heavy again. I have practice, a lesson and three concerts. Our music for the week is bluegrass.

When I was a kid, Saturday was kids’ day. Sunday was for family. With no stores open, there was only home or the grandparents’ house. I preferred home, but I had no vote. Now, I am the only vote. I stay home. The house is warm and cozy. The fridge is filled with great food, leftovers from Peg. I’ve already eaten toasted Irish bread, a wonderful recipe with orange and cranberries. The dogs are sleeping on the couch.

I’m old, but I don’t feel old; however, the signs are there. At stores and even the dump people ask me if I need help. I used to say no. I don’t any more. Everything is heavy. Also, all the tops of jars are difficult to open as are pill bottles. I have to use pliers. I think it is a conspiracy.

Today will be another warm day, 69°. It is partly cloudy, and the clouds will hang around all day. Yesterday I took a ride. All the oak trees are filled with brown leaves just waiting to fall. They add an odd color to the trees along the roadside. My deck and front lawn are covered in leaves. When I walk through them in the front, I shuffle my feet as I go. The sound brings me back to when I was a kid walking in the gutters filled with leaves and kicking them as I walked.

My friends are arriving this morning. With them I have the most amazing memories of Ghana. They lived in the south. I visited them and traveled with them on school holidays. Their house was on a second floor. It didn’t have running water. They had little houses in the backyard. It was a run some times to get there, but Peace Corps volunteers get quite adept at timing the run. Bill hauled water from the town well.

There was an opening for an English teacher at my school as another volunteer had left . She had been unhappy the whole school year. She seldom even spoke to me, just a hello as we passed each other. I asked Bill and Peg if they wanted to come north to Bolga. They did. We still wonder how that was accomplished as all our communication was by mail. I convinced my principal who spoke with Peace Corps. Bill and Peg moved to my school and lived in the other side of my duplex. We ate dinner together every night. We listened to music and we played games. We played Password so many times we had the cards memorized. We played an alphabet word game. We had paddle ball contests. My mother had sent one in a package. We got so good we paddled well into double figures on each turn then catastrophe struck. The elastic broke. We both had motos and took day trips around the town. We had fun. We had each other.

I have a concert today, and Bill and Peg will be there. I am so excited to have someone I know in the audience. I will sign autographs at the end.