Sunday, September 28, 2008

I am now in retail, where the customer is always right. I come from a law enforcement environment, and although I had very little to do with law enforcement itself, our customers were generally never right. ever. My job was mostly human resources and secretarial duties for the Chiefs and the Board of Commissioners. Customers in the Police Department can be angry, rude and sometimes even dangerous, and that's just the residents! The perps as they are called (I never could use the jargon of police work, I always felt like I was in a cheesy episode of Batman), were never happy to be at our place of business. Much different than retail, where everyone is happy! Retail Therapy works!
The Costume Shop is filling up rapidly as Halloween approaches. I am amazed at the number of costumes that are being reserved by adults for this Holiday. Thankfully, this community embraces Halloween, as they seem to embrace all party and celebration activities. Houses are painstakingly decorated, and autumn vignettes are seen all over town. Hay stacks, corn stalks pumpkins and gourds are given porch and front yard status, and there is an air of celebration everywhere. Of course, it helps when the foliage is magnificently participating in the autumnal brilliance. Everywhere you look it is orange, yellow, reds, gold, burgundy and green. For those of you who plan to get up here next year for the peak of leaf peeping, remember that September 28th is PEAK. It is glorious. The rain for the past few days has made it difficult for the leaves to hang onto the trees, and they are beginning to pool at the bottom of the maple trees, falling with each gust of wet whipping air. Still warm from the tropical storms that have been hammering the south, we are getting a little last growth in the pasture. Lucky for us. Yesterday was eerily quiet, no gunshots to be heard as they are during regular hunting season. I keep looking for the turkeys that I have been seeing on the side of the road and in our yard for a few weeks, and none of them are around. They are either laying low, wisely, or already part of someone's Thanksgiving menu. Either way, I enjoy their presence in my life. I read the book "Animal, Vegetable and Miracle", and recommend it for anyone who is not sure where they stand in the hunting issue. Of course, if you are vegetarian or vegan, as many of my friends are, you know exactly where you stand and no amount of reading will change your mind. That's cool. But for me, it clarified alot of the discomfort that I had towards hunting and raising animals for consumption. I enjoy meat and fish, and hope that raising animals or hunting humanely for our table is the best way I can control the horrible injustices that occur in the commercial meat processing industry. Just a thought. I have been spending the weekend alone. Since Jerry had a dental appointment, and Allison was visiting on the island, I was designated as official dog watcher for the weekend. We all got along famously. Jake has been engaged in a hunger strike, as his soul-mate is gone. I keep telling him to eat up, as Jerry will be back on Sunday, but no deal. He is clinically depressed and enjoying being the sighing and listless canine companion without his Master. Yuk. He does this anytime Jerry goes away. He just stops eating. Daphne of course just saw the empty side of the bed as a greater opportunity for comfort, and moved right in. She is now sleeping next to me, and is not questioning how little gift from heaven occurred. I hold no illusions that she will mourn us when we're gone. Whoever holds the key to the cupboard holds the key to her heart. She is an opportunist. It was a quiet weekend, and I got alot of reading and cleaning done. My shoulder is keeping me from knitting or spinning right now, but I'm back to PT tomorrow, and looking forward to it. We haven't seen or heard from the contractors since opening day, and I don't expect that we'll get much work done this week. We're learning to live with this low standard of accomplishment. It will be done in good time. I keep reading that upstate New York is depressed, but actually, we're all having a pretty good time.
Except the Turkeys.

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