Well, some interesting things since we last visited. A potpourri of items to follow:
First, I suppose, was the wake-up call/reality check from the Minnesota Vikings reminding me that they will always squish my foolish early optimism with humiliating defeats..and, to make matters much worse, the team’s biggest star, Adrian Peterson, has fallen from the sky and come crashing to earth in a big ball of idiotic behavior and bad publicity all because he has some antiquated ideas about how to discipline his little kids.
Peterson obviously has no rules of discipline for himself, though, making regular withdrawals from his unprotected sperm bank all over the country resulting in at least seven kids from five different moms. Now, he’s getting his full pay while sidelined until the whole child abuse case is settled. Oy Vey.
Which reminds me; Happy New Year ( Rosh Hashanah) to my Jewish friends. I have two.
Fall has arrived without a lot of trumpets blaring. I suppose the lack of fanfare is because Summer has been a bit stubborn about getting out of the way which is fine by me.
I do find it puzzling that so many people I know proudly proclaim Autumn to be their favorite season when it means so many fun outdoorsy things of our short Summer; swimming, boating, baseball, picnics, patio parties, golf and gardening are all over. Oh, sure. The Autumn leaves (especially the sumac bushes) turn pretty colors, the air is crisp and cool, apple and pumpkin picking with the kids is nice so are homecoming parades and football games. Plus, it won’t be long before great armies of guys and gals outfitted in orange and armed with shotguns will partake in their annual passion for Pheasant hunting. Thousands will gather on opening day at the edge of fields, shelterbelts and sloughs…then at the stroke of twelve noon, with excited dogs sniffing the air, unleashed and leading the way, will all pile out of their pickups and march forward hoping to blast the beaks off as many of our pretty state birds as the limits will allow. I hear pheasant numbers are up this year. Hope so.
I see the value of houses in our Ronning Estates neighborhood (an older Sioux Falls subdivision) has about maxed out meaning our ride on the real estate inflation train has pulled into the station. Linda and I have seen it coming for years, of course. These houses were built for first time home buyers back in the early seventies..most of them sold for about 18 thousand dollars but it didn’t take long for excited young families to make them look like a million bucks; adding garages, planting trees, grooming yards and demonstrating a real pride of ownership. I’m happy to say that still exists out here.…..with a few exceptions. And it’s those exceptions that have us checking the Real Estate ads for the first time ever. The other night around 10:45, I was in my lair watching TV when the doorbell rang followed by a loud knock on the door. I’d like to say I raced to investigate but, like the true chicken I am, waited for Linda to join me in the hall before getting up on my tip toes to peek out the small door window to see what creature might be lurking on the other side who would dare interrupt our slumber so late at night. I flicked on the porch light expecting..I don’t know..one of the grandkids.. a tipsy friend..we had no idea. But there was no one. Whoever it was had disappeared into the darkness. A mystery that will likely remain unsolved.
Oh, wait. What’s this? A note left by the door with a simple instruction.
So I open it up and discover this:
I blacked out the phallic symbol.
A stupid prank by a bunch of kids is all we can figure..but it has really unnerved Linda to the point where the window blinds are now shut tight and the porch light is left on all night. (It turns out several of our neighbors got similar “notes” and late night knock and runs too.)
So..would we ever really consider pulling up stakes and moving into a condo? Well, who wants to live in a neighborhood where you have to worry about who might be roaming the streets and banging on your door in the middle of the night?
Then something else happened that is nearly as mysterious as the note. Three different windy days have caused huge branches to come crashing down from our front yard Maple tree which was severely damaged in the April ice storm and, despite a trimming, continues to give up limbs every time a brisk breeze blows. One I managed to drag to the driveway intending to chop into garbage acceptable size pieces. The other two lay in the yard awaiting my indecision on disposal. But before that could happen they VANISHED.
We have suspicions about which one of our neighbors may actually be our branch Good Samaritan..loading them up and hauling them away on three separate occasions .. but have decided to take our time figuring it out.
It could take years.
