OCTOBER CLOUDS AND WANDERLUST...

Rose's photo Oct 2009 in a Chardon mall

   I don't know about you, but the dark clouds of October always give me a feeling of wanderlust.

   I became a fan of these dramatic skies when I was a young reporter in the late 1950s, covering the waterfront in the little lake town of Fairport.

   On my way home on many a late afternoon along the autumn shoreline, I'd pass the old Diamond Alkali along the Lake Erie shore. That big sooty factory's hulking buildings against the dark skies were eerily lit by sulphur-tinged industrial lights, and I perceived an odd and unexpected beauty there, enhanced by the moving outlines of white seagulls swooping restlessly around against the backdrop of  the darkness.

   Somehow those sulking clouds that held that scene together would make me want to keep driving; my travellin' foot would grow ticklish on the gas pedal; I'd feel a gypsy spirit overtaking me.

   The factory's long gone, but the clouds of October still have that effect on me and probably always will.

    (I haven't taken an October night ride for many years. I must get out my broom and get it ready).

A HARD-HAT WOMAN...

 
(REPRINT FROM ROSE-ABOUT-TOWN OCT. 2009)

On this crisp and classic autumn day, when sunshine and blue skies bring special brightness to the autumn color, I am looking for a mundane bit of clothing generally reserved for working men. A hardhat!
   Along my woodland paths grow giants, in the form of vintage English walnuts; mammoth wild cherry trees; oaks and others.
   And as my dog and I walk daily in these places, he delights in acorns, nuts, walnuts, cherries... a variety of wild fruits he can ferret out along the woodsy ground.
   I, however, have begun to realize I am a frequent target for these soft and hard-shelled fruits. My head is hard, but not that hard...
   Oh where are all those hard hats my construction husband and our boys used to keep at ready hand in our garage and barn? Gone! just when a woman could use them!

(You can talk back to Rose About Town at randrmoore@gmail.com)

Commentary comes from Susan Luhta Price of Alabama: "That is funny, Rose. You should be glad, however, that was the biggest thing you have to contend with. My cousin who lives in Key West was hit by a falling coconut. Now that will leave a knot in your head!

From Rose back to Susan Luhta Price, 10-11-2015: "NOW I remember what happened to that hat, Susan! I spray-painted it bright red and gave it to a friend for an October Red-Hat luncheon. She won the Halloween hat contest!"--Rose