LOSS

I'm mourning the loss of October.  The duration of my favorite month was much too brief and I hardly had time to savor it. The anxiety and urgency of my private problems seemed to upstage October's autumnal performance.

 I tumbled dumbly through the golden days of falling leaves and festive pumpkins and suddenly found myself hanging on to the edge of the final day - - Halloween. 

It was a lovely day filled with mild sunshine, but also a very hurried and uneventful day.  My mind was muddled from a sleepless night and my soul was more weary than celebratory.

I had an early dinner of pizza, Darjeeling tea, and apple pie. Then I wandered outside for a brief trek in the forest on this final October day,

The autumn foliage - which started out so promising - seemed mundane and confused.

Some of the leaves had color, others were still green. Some trees were bare. Nothing much of interest.

In an awkward gesture of creative desperation, I retrieved my cell phone and attempted to video the scene. The result was a resounding flop. I was standing on a slippery mound of slick moss and wet leaves, balancing myself with a walking stick in one hand and holding the cell phone with the other.

Here is the crappy result.

Later that evening, in a burst of hasty and haphazard Halloween creativity, I grabbed one of my pumpkins and carved a jack-o-lantern.

After lighting a candle I documented the event with another cell phone video. This forty-second fiasco was even worse than my forest venture.

 I doubt if I'll ever get used to filming with a cell phone. It's a cumbersome ordeal. I don't understand how so many other people gleefully and relentlessly document their entire lives with a cell phone.

If nothing else, Halloween night was atmospheric with a brisk, chilly wind that rattled the dying leaves and encouraged owls to hoot in the branches.
I tried in vain to see the rare Blue Moon, but too many clouds were in the way.

So now it's November and I'm dreading the long winter journey that awaits us. It was twenty-five degrees last night (Fahrenheit). I had to put the electric blanket on the bed so me and my two cats didn't turn into popsicles.

Wait a minute - - 

Is today Election Day?? Here's my prediction:

We will be counting mail-in votes and fraudulent ballots for the next two years, at least.