Going, Going, Gone

Hello World, Greetings again! This has been an interesting week, with Labor Day on Monday, and what they are now calling Patriot Day on Friday - the latter of which is also known as The National Day of Service & Remembrance, which seems an awful lot to cram onto just one day, but there you have it. Of course, everybody long since realizes - at least, they should by now, heaven knows - that I always say it's the short weeks at work that turn out to be the longest, and this no exception, so I stand by that opinion. Rosh Hashanah starts on Sunday night, so there's certainly no lack of occasions to be observed in the last few days. Not to mention, back-to-school, which has become its own movable feast, depending on where you live, so that confused youngsters don't know if they're coming or going, and their poor befuddled parents even more so, I dare say. We don't have that problem here because our cats don't go to public school, although I did notice them circulating a petition to send us to obedience classes, but I told them that's not a happening thing, believe me. Of course, it wouldn't be Labor Day without the estimable Flag Brigade running up the colors upstairs and downstairs for the holiday as usual. Actually, it was thanks to Bill this time around, because he moved the bedroom air conditioner to another window, and away from the flag bracket, to make it all possible. After that, it was up to The Flag Brigade to remember to bring them back in again before dinner, and that actually happened, so from that we can surmise that The Age of Miracles has not passed, Amen! There is often a concern that the weather might turn changeable, and the somewhat unpredictable Flag Brigade would have to step lively to rescue Old Glory from the raindrops, but it's been so record-breaking dry around here for so long, that the actual miracle was that the star-spangled banner didn't just spontaneously combust and go up in flames right on the pole. And right along with the rest of the rockets' red glare and bombs bursting in air, I shouldn't wonder, great (Francis) Scott. In sports news, the professional football season started off with a bang on Thursday with Pittsburgh and New England - and please feel free to go right ahead and insert your own "Deflategate" joke here with impunity, and I will not be the one to say that you're all full of hot air, or take the wind out of your sails, by golly. (Go ahead, I'll wait. Dum dee dum dee dum dum ..... ) Gridiron action gets underway in earnest on Sunday, delighting its euphoric fans the world over, and the clamoring advertisers, it goes without saying. Meanwhile in baseball, the pennant races are heating up all over the place, and with a scant 3 weeks left to go in the regular season, teams are scrambling to make the most of their remaining chances. Our local Sports section ran a giant front-page story on the Yankees pitchers, where the club is holding them to strict pitch counts to keep their arms fresh for the playoffs. I don't in any way blame the Yankees for the following (or beat writer Chad Jennings, who knows better) but the caption under the photo of Michael Pineda read: ========================= Skipped a start in June and probably would have skipped more had he not went on the Disabled List in July ========================= Had he not went! Ye gods - talk about no hits, no runs, and one great glaring error by the caption writer, that's a big league blunder for real. I see that The Grammar Police have fainted clean away, and for the rest of us persnickety language curmudgeons (and the dinosaurs and I know who you are!) there is no joy in Mudville, that's for sure. Had he not went, indeed. And in fact, it would not have been much of a holiday weekend for us, had we not went (ouch!) to visit our friends around Albany for the occasion. Of course, we're always happy to see them, at any time or any place for any reason, and they were kind enough to invite us to enjoy their backyard pool while the weather was still balmy enough for it. We set off at a trot on Saturday, and the traffic was not all that bad along the way for a holiday weekend, so we made it up there in remarkable time - especially considering that we left late and made a stop in mid-stream, as it were. Our hosts greeted us with open arms and toasty grilled cheese sandwiches with a variety of fillings, and we were not shy about pouncing on them like a couple of vagrants starved for a good meal. After a suitable interval, it was into the pool for us, and it did not disappoint, I can tell you that. The weather was exceptional, and the sparkling water and convivial company would be more than a tonic for whatever ails us. Then it was off to dinner at the nearby Circle Diner, and I'm happy to report that their macaroni & cheese entree was a deliciously novel change of pace. From there we did some window shopping at a capacious crafts store, where you can believe me when I say that not only Fall, but Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's were all in full swing, with all the stops pulled out, by jingle. Meanwhile out in the real world, it was still Summer, so we hurried over to Guptill's Coney Express in Cohoes for their locally famous soft ice cream, which although it is mobbed with customers year-round, is indeed worth the wait. After that it didn't take much for us old geezers to start nodding off, but we stayed up long enough to watch "Monsoon Wedding" on their big screen TV, and found it different and interesting in many ways. Since they had invited us to stay with them, it was a very short jaunt down the stairs to their spacious guest quarters, where we slept soundly in spite of their 2 friendly and curious cats, who were determined to share the space with us. In the morning we savored a leisurely breakfast of French toast, eggs, and assorted fruit, which was a big improvement over staying at a hotel, where you have to race around packing up in the morning to check out on time, and breakfast is just one more thing to get out of the way in a hurry. Since we had no special plans for the weekend, it was nice to have some quiet and unstructured time to just relax and go where the day might take us. It wasn't long before we were back in the pool, and loving every minute of it, I can assure you. We also squeezed in some shopping, and more of their big screen TV, and still managed to actually depart on time, as impossible as that might seem. As much as we were sorry to leave (and here, I will very pointedly NOT say the pool, more than our very hospitable friends) we could hear that Denny's in Newburgh calling our names, and we made a bee-line for it as if we hadn't eaten in a month of Sundays. The rest of the trip home was uneventful, and the traffic was still not really bad, since supposedly the bulk of holiday travelers would be on the move Monday rather than Sunday. Even I would admit that it would be captious to suggest, particularly after such a wonderful visit, that the best part of the weekend was having Monday off from work (YAY!) but it certainly didn't hurt any, and that's a plain fact. On the other hand, it's those short weeks that can make a person go crazy, and I might worry about it too - that is, had I not already went. Elle