Priorities

My wife’s favorite time of year, Fall.

I’ve never really understood just why. Perhaps that’s because I’m a summer person.

I guess that the perception is a product of how I grew up. I always associated summer time with ample free time to do what was I wanted to do… mostly hang with my friends… and with open-ended road trips which my family took often.

To this very day summer is my time of year, and is mostly linked to road trips camping on to the stars and in general, not freezing my buttocks off.

Still, all here in western New York does have its attractions. The colors mostly, I think. The fall festivals are usually very good. Living in my neighborhood also gives us the opportunity to watch migratory birds as they head north and south with the seasons. As I write this I’m listening to a group of peace as they fly overhead perhaps 100 of them, their huge V should squadron stretching approximately a quarter mile in each direction.

The colors of the trees are so striking that they can be seen from space as shown in this NASA photograph. But look just to the east of us in Vermont and New Hampshire. See those white streaks? That’s snow. It’s coming, and make no mistake; I’m going to have to shovel the stuff.

A kind of heartbreaking event for us is by having to winterize camper for the season. It’s in storage now, and we won’t see it until April or perhaps May.

Oh, well. For the meantime, we have Halloween, and other seasonal events to keep us entertained. The kids have no shortage of fun during this period of the year either, Having the leaves to play in, and of course Halloween. picking and carving your own pumpkin, and of course the annual candy extortion.

Of course living here in Western NY means that most of the kids will be wearing costumes…. under their winter coats. It never fails.

OK, there’s nothing overtly political, here, this time; no great philosophy behind this writing. There is, I suppose, something to take away, though. Life goes on.

You see, while this is a political blog, in most respects, once in a while, priorities must be re-etsablished. Politics, you see, is merely a tool; Our politics, ideally, is a reflection of our personal values. I’ll get into the specifics of this at some future time… but in general, life itself must at times take the lead. Rather like keeping your eye on the donut and not on the hole.

While the snow is outside I’ll have lots of time to mull that one over, from a philosophical point of view, and I’ll perhaps be able to get deeper into that line of thought.

But for now, I’m about enjoying the world around me.