Beard Abides Unsupervised as Pumpkins Loom

So the government is back open as the center finally asserted itself over the warring factions of the far right and left.  I’m hoping against hope they take this as an object lesson in the need to govern versus posture.  There seems to be a real dearth of statesmanship where the greater good of the governed is secondary to getting the next zinger out.  Back to worrying about more mundane things, like baseball games and the center of the Patriots’ defense.

I’m convinced my wife has finally turned the corner from the fretful month she spent nursing her father back to health in Panama.  Exhibit A for that conclusion lies in her “lost time” experience yesterday while out shopping.  She is an Olympic quality shopper and left shortly after lunch on a quick errand to score a needed item.  She discovered a Nordstrom Rack had opened in her favorite shopping center during her absence and fell off the face of the earth for a few hours.

Front Yard Before - Buddy Clearing Lanes

I returned to an ominously dark house after work and knew she must be feeling better.  Since I was completely unsupervised I indulged in something she would have firmly opined was stupid and found a way to thwart.  I used my riding lawn mower to get the leaves out of the front yard.  My normal modus operandi is to wait for the winds that scour our hill top to remove the offending leaves.  For the first time in the eight years we’ve lived here that wasn’t happening.  I consulted with Buddy who wholeheartedly concurred with my plan since it cleared the field for his mad downhill charges against the front yard squirrels (think Rohirrim level).  In fifteen minutes the front yard was pristine again but still no wife as the sun set.

Front Yard After

After supper, catching up with all the DVRed shows my wife will not watch, and fielding the numerous calls from the Panamanian Mafia searching for their spiritual leader I was still single as the Red Sox readied for their first pitch.  I finally bit the bullet and made the call seeking information on my missing spouse.  She sounded surprised when I told her I was home and then I told her to look outside and she actually squawked in surprise to see that it was dark outside – it was too funny. 

That didn’t stop her from continuing to shop of course, the woman can focus.  She finally returned home with the Red Sox already firmly ahead of the Tigers and regaled me with tales of her exploits at Nordstrom’s and various and sundry other favorite haunts.  It was really nice to see the bubbly side of her personality re-emerging.  Of course the new shoes (such a bargain) that she refused to take off were a bit problematic in the late innings when when her feet got cold and sought out the Anglo-Saxon heated calfs to her left.

The Sox, as they have done all year, responding nicely to the prior day’s loss.  This team is just different; they don’t care about style, just results.  They got out to an early lead and then nursed that to the finish line.  I was severely nervous until Saint Koji entered the game.  He is really carving out a legend for himself and it is so refreshing to have a closer that gets the ball and then throws it instead of contemplating the unfairness of life between each pitch.

Thank You to he of Encroaching Legerdemain

While she does complain about the playoff beard I noted she was rubbing it before each Uehara pitch in the 9^th inning.  So the beard survives until at least Sunday now.  One of my wife’s friends actually said it looked like George Clooney’s but in her defense she had been drinking heavily.

Love the Pumpkinfest!

We leave tomorrow for one of my favorite events of the year – the annual Pumpkinfest in my home town of Keene, NH.  I love going back to Keene at any time but to see Main Street festooned with thousands of lit jack-o-lanterns is just flat, cool. There will of course be the occasional beer consumed but I’m willing to pay that price to let the waves of memories and sense of home wash over me.    

As I left for work this morning the front yard was once again covered with leaves.

Playoff Beard Update - Magic Returns