A Last Swing Through October

It was 64 degrees and I had just returned from a hike around the lake at Como. The phone message indicated that the other geezers had decided to play outside for one last time this fall. Curt is leaving for an experiment in retirement living tomorrow morning. He is going to spend four months in Arkansas to escape the icy fingers of cold that Minnesota is renowned for, and thus will winnow down the geezers to the stalwart four. So we played outside, beginning at 4:45 and playing until the dark captured the courts again, at about six. Lighting this time of year gets pretty iffy in the evening, with the shadows lengthening and the oblique sun shining in the eyes of anyone trying to serve or hit an easy overhead. But we played anyway, to celebrate and enjoy the day that Curt went to Arkansas. There were Arkansas jokes - about accents and roadkill and mobile homes. Curt and I won the next to last set, 6-4, to send him off with the thrill of a victory. One more set in the dwindling sun and October tennis is over.

Halloween is just two days away.

The Red Sox are World Serious Champions again, for the second time in four years. The Curse of the Bambino has finally timed out. It's a good year to be a sports fan in Massachusetts.

Attaching Strings

The hard freeze came in this morning and finally ended the tomato season on Fairmount. I was starting to think that it would last through until November, but it's over. But nonetheless it was a beautiful day after the cold air warmed. Herb and I took a trek around the neighborhood looking for Halloween decor. There were some reasonably nice ideas exhibited by the Halloween lovers in the area, but none that beat the gi-mungus witch I saw last week. There were some areas with beautiful maple leaves and some areas where the ash trees have given up their clothes and stand naked.

I took this photo on Summit Avenue at House of Hope Presbyterian Church. There is a bush that seems undecided about changing colors and a stone angel standing sentinel. Or maybe it's Mary, mother of Jesus. Anyhow, it's Sunday and thus appropriate.


I spent about four hours restringing my recently purchased Wilson racket. I'm getting a little faster at it, but it is plain that I'll never make a living restringing rackets. It is satisfying, however, to be able to put new strings in my racket whenever I feel the urge. [Not very often.]

The 2007 World Serious is nearly over. The Red Sox won last night 10-5 to take a 3-0 lead in games. They are ahead again tonight, 4-1 in the eighth inning and may sweep the Rox 4-0. The curse of the Babe has likely been cured, it appears. It's just baseball.

Late note: Rox have closed to 4-3 in the 8th. Check the local fish wrap for the scores in the morning.

Hunter's Moon

For a day that started out at 33 degrees, it didn't turn out half bad. It reached 54 degrees in the early afternoon. By sundown I was driving in rush hour traffic on US 94 on the way to the Oakdale Lifetime Fitness Club for a USTA match. The drive into the sun wasn't too bad, but the traffic was thick, partly, I think, because of the loss of the 35W bridge in August. I found the club and played some reasonably good tennis against a couple of good players. It was mixed doubles and Marsha was my partner. We were competitive but lost 6-4, 6-2. It was just tennis.

This is Herb before he left to go to work this morning. As you can see, he dresses like a computer professional, which, in fact, he is.


It was a full moon overnight. It's the one called the Hunter's Moon, because the moon is so big and bright. This time of year is when the moon is at its closest and is considerably larger than usual and brighter in the sky for that reason.

The Sox beat the Rox 2-1 and now lead the World Serious 2 games to none.

Curling Season Sweeps In

The Halloween season is in full bloom. A lot of people in St Paul go all out in decorating their houses in hopes of scaring the bejesus out of the tuskers that come to their door for candy. While riding through the neighborhood I ran across a couple of pretty good examples. I don't know of any contest for the largest witch in town, but the first one has the largest witch that I have seen and represents some real labor in getting it affixed to the roof.


This one has a nice array of scary items and seems pretty well turned out. I have seen others about that may need to be photographed, too. Two years ago, when KS went to Japan to teach, she brought a Halloween costume with her, at her boss's request, for the school Halloween program. She also asked me to send some photos of decorated homes to show to the kids, because they don't have the same tradition of dolling up their homes for the holiday. I seems to a USA thing. So I've scouted out some of the decorations in this area, too.


Yesterday was the kickoff of the curling season. We had a game at 4:50 and another at 9 pm, so I spent a lot of the day in the curling club. My team in each case came out a little short on the scoreboard, but it's early in the season yet, and we may develop into a force in the leagues. Anyway, it's just curling.

There was tennis tonight at Wooddale. It was a session of mixed doubles with the hardcore girls and Jerry. It's always fun to play, and there are always some good points and one or two seemingly miraculous points. Tonight, I can remember two. You had to be there to appeciate them, however, because there is no video at Wooddale. We finished two sets and started a third before being evicted from the court by the next renter. 6-4, 6-4 were the scores.

The Red Sox won the first game of the Series in Boston. Sox beat Rox 13-1.

October Tennis Ball Smacking

It was pretty enough to play tennis outside. But, because the days are shortening rapidly we had to start at 4 pm. When the cast is composed of geezers, there is little impetus to stay at work when the nice days are scramming. Only two of the four geezers in attendance are still working so we met and warmed up with the mercury teetering at 56 degrees on the Matrix thermometer. Even when the sun is out these days, it is low in the sky, and the shadows along with the slanted light make the visibility iffy as day turns to night, but we played enthusiastically if not aesthetically. Tennis Dennis was back for more fun, and we managed to remember the score all evening. Three sets, knackered, and home by 6:30. Again, no blood on the courts.

I revive a photo from last week showing a visit to the Como Conservatory, a sanctuary for the winter months when one yearns for flowers and the feel of high humidity. The mums were beautiful and the nude statue appealing I'll be going back there over the winter to refresh my spirit when January is wearing on me. As it will.


The World "Serious" starts tomorrow. The Red Sox and the team from Colorado will be competing. I'm picking the Sox, because I like this Ortiz guy that used to suit up for the Twinks.