Keep the Coffee Comimg

Last night was cold, and the cold lingers in the house. It will be chilly all day, staying in the 50’s. The sun is shining. It is windy. I can see the top most branches still filled with leaves swaying.

I filled the bird feeders yesterday, and a riot of birds are flying in and out. They are nuthatches and chickadees. When she visited, my mother used to love to watch my birds. She also had feeders in her backyard, but her birds were pigeons and crows. We used to joke they were country pigeons. Spawns would hang from her feeders while they dined. We watched other spawns tightrope cross the clothes line to a feeder. Regardless, my mother faithfully filled her feeders.

When I was a kid, I used to love to visit Boston Common. We’d go in the summer and also in the winter near Christmas. In the summer we’d ride the swan boats. My father would buy us peanuts, and we’d feed the spawns. They came right to us and took the peanuts out of our hands. We were swamped with spawns. We were delighted.

I am reminded of one trip to London. I was traveling with my mother and father. My father and I went walking while my mother stayed back at the hotel. We stopped in Trafalgar Square. We bought some seeds. The pigeons attacked. My father laughed the whole time. He didn’t know I even put seeds on his head. The pigeons went after those seeds. He still laughed. I have a wonderful picture of him with the pigeons on his head and hand and other pigeons flying around him. We decided we’d bring my mother to the square. When we did, we gave her a cup of seeds. The pigeons attacked. She screamed and kept screaming. She threw her seeds to the ground. She gave us hell.

I voted. I never miss voting. My first time voting was 1968 for the Nixon-Humphrey race. My candidate lost. I was disappointed. I was in the eighth grade when I first got interested in politics. Kennedy was my senator so he was also my candidate for president. I wore Kennedy pins, still have them. I watched the debates. On election night, I watched the results trickle in. When I went to bed, there was still no winner announced. It was too close to call. The next morning Kennedy was declared the winner. Nixon graciously conceded.

This is a four uke week, a slow week. I have already had practice and a lesson. The first concert is today, another tomorrow. Nothing else is on my dance card.

Today will be in the low 60’s and partly cloudy. The sun was shining when I woke up then the clouds took a turn. Now, the sun and the blue sky are back. I always wonder why the weather is described as partly cloudy. Partly sunny is lovely. Everything pops in the light. The leaves seem to glean. It is a bit windy, and more leaves are falling. The oak leaves have all turned red.

When I was a kid, I loved walking to school on fall mornings. The clear air held a chill from the nighttime. The sunlight had a sharpness and slanted a different way. My footsteps on the sidewalk seemed to echo. We talked in whispers.

I never saw a nun eat lunch. The nuns went back to the convent across the street to eat. The only nun I ever saw eat was Sister Hildegard. During lunch, you could buy a candy bar. The bars were delivered in a lunch box just before the lunch bell. Sister Hildegard would go through the box and take a few bars and hide them in her drawer. She never fooled any of us. During the day, she’d put her hand to her mouth. After that she’d chew. We knew she was eating candy. One time I went to her desk with a worksheet to ask a question. She spit nuts on the paper then sent me right back to my desk.

My Halloween candy arrived yesterday. I put it in the closet so I don’t see it. I have full size Hershey Chocolate bars and an assorted box with Snickers, Milky Ways and Three Musketeers. I hope I give that last box all away, and I hope I don’t give any of it away.

I love the classic creature movies like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolfman, The Invisible Man and The Mummy. I always feel sad for the cursed Wolfman. His transformation is not his fault. Poor Larry Talbot was bitten by a werewolf. Dracula is my favorite. You never see him bite his victims. He waves his cape to hide it. Renfield is the saddest character. I love the way the Mummy walks. I love Dr. Frankenstein’s lab. I love the Invisible Man and especially the old woman screaming and running up the stairs. I love that all of these movies are black and white. That makes them just a bit scarier.