It's Windsday!

Flurries flirt with the rain. Leaves furl and flutter past. This is fall. Not the fanciful autumn of memories, colored in warm earth tones, crisp air inviting inklings of a warm cup of cocoa or coffee, but the blustery, biting harbinger of winter. Oh, the same palette surrounds, and beauty is not absent. But it is muted by the decay brought on by rain and grey skies. The gutters are still filled with leaves, but they're sopping and floating, clogging drainage grates. The bloated carcass of a cat lies derelict in a puddle. Not much farther along the street sweeper has strung another lifeless animal's remains across the bricks.

This is fall. Is it any wonder we see so much seasonal depression? Is it any wonder so many older folks head south or southwest for warmer climes in the coming weeks? Well, perhaps not, but it's all part of the cycle of life. To every thing...

The temperature dropped 4 degrees from the time I first checked as I lay in bed contemplating how to roust myself until the time I finally walked out the door to hit the streets. That's nasty! And as I approached the glass doors of the vestibule in my building I could see distinct white blobs whirling in the wind. The radio guys said to expect showers this morning; there was no mention of flurries. Thanks, God, for always keeping it interesting.

I guess I should comment on a couple of today's treasures. It was a joy to get back at it and to not come up empty handed after such a long hiatus. I struck gold early as I passed my church and spotted a sheet of party stickers (Happy Birthday banner, clown, balloons, candles) safely sealed in the original plastic packaging, though a couple of stickers had been removed. I may still head back to Broad Street for the bag of cans on the curb with someone's garbage. If it's all cans it'll be a good haul; plus I hate to see recyclables go in the trash. I altered my route ever so slightly to snag a pair of slacks I saw in the gutter on Seminary Street near Dudley only yesterday. My intuition says someone will claim them from the share table downstairs. Freecycling, baby! Finally, here's hoping there's a little balance on the Pizza Hut gift card. So far I'm 50/50 on those.

Today's Stats
Temp: 37 degrees F
Distance: 2.7 miles
Treasure: 1 pair black slacks, 32x32, by George; 1 Pizza Hut card; 1 sheet of party stickers (2 used); 8 cans.

iPod Playlist (shuffle)
I Once Loved a Lad - Margaret Davis (Former Galesburg girl)
Lucky Girl - Joni Mitchell
Step Inside Love/Los Paranoias - The Beatles
A Day in the Life - The Beatles
Play it All Night Long (Live) - Warren Zevon (This is the version I listened to)
More Than a Feeling - Boston
Hold On Loosely - .38 Special
I Want Your Sex (Part 1) - George Michael