Saturday, November 19, 2011

A Typical November Day

A typical November day. Lifeless. Devoid of color. The trees are barren, having shed their summer foliage. The few remaining leaves pile up in dull brown heaps on the dormant grass of the lawn. The sky is gray. Not even a cloud pattern, just dull, even gray. Not long ago the back yard was a flurry of colorful activity. There were blue jays, bright red cardinals and black as night crows. Perhaps they all tagged along with the geese on the trip south, for the backyard is now vacant. There is a stillness. Nothing moves. It's as if the world is drawing in on itself to await the winter.
And now a snowflake falls...

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

I'm becoming a curmudgeon

Sometimes we all feel the urge to eat things we don't care for, go to events we know we won't enjoy, or agree with a conversation thread just so we won't rock the boat. I'm really trying to get past all that. I'm not trying to be a jerk, it's just that I have reached that point in my life where I am unapologetic for things I like and don't like. For example:

I like Italian red wine, the drier, the better. I know white wine is better with some foods and they make really good wines in northern Michigan. That's more for you to drink. I like full bodied wines from very old vines.

I like my vegetables raw. Spinach salad - wonderful. Cooked spinach - put it directly in the garbage disposal.

I don't care for watching hockey. I know it's a great game and I have lots of friends who really enjoy it. I'm just not into it, even though I've tried.

Opera leaves me cold.

I don't like light beer. In fact, if light beer is all that is offered I will usually just drink water.

I enjoy watching football and basketball. But I would rather play any sport with my kids or buddies than watch professional athletes play the same sport.

I'm not a fan of big cities. Short visits are okay, but if I had to choose between being in midtown Manhattan or Jackson Hole, Wyoming I'd pick Jackson Hole.

Most people who read this really won't care about my opinions. That doesn't bother me either.