GUS : This will , I hope , be a diary on Monday morning 10/04/10. We are GUS - Giving Up Smoking. This diary is one of a regular series in which those who are trying to quit smoking , thinking about quitting , have quit and have suggestions get together to offer moral and other support. Although good and brave people tried to help me use our standard format , well , oops. Doing my best to paraphrase in the absence of the normal statements and lists. Please don't beat me.
It's a beautiful world out there.We live in an enormous country - Arctic and sub - arctic Alaska , mid - Pacific paradisical Hawaii , and and North Woods of Maine to Everglades of Florida , and the amazing variey just in the Pacific coast states themselves. Beautiful.
Now fall is rapidly approaching , in some places to be felt and seen with an astonishing sharpness and clarity , in other places as barely perceptible change.As sharp a tang as Wisconsin cheese , as snappy as the beginning of cold that makes maple syrup from Vermont or Michigan, even neighboring Quebec and Ontario give us a morning delight on pancakes.
Where I live fall begins with heat and dryness , a fant hint seen in late August that you may miss if you haven't watched it sneaking along in the southernmost Appalachians all your life. We are probably a month yet before our peak leaf colors , never to reach the calendar filling , shocking color of a New England palette riot.
The dogs I serve are very frisky and alert despite the advanced age of two of them; morning shows a rejuvenation in spirits and urges to run and roughhouse that are a little bit contagious.Heavy dew on morning grass , goldenrod and sumac bending with the weight of it remind that the next rain will carry the wonderful scents that might challenge any cook's spice racks for ability to tantalize.
Football games , state and county fairs , students at every level becoming deeply enthused or entangled by their studies make for a set of social events and settings that I've been a part of for more than a half -century now.It's going to be good! The young fun of Halloween will be here before we can get ready for it , Thanksgivng dinner shopping or hunting for wary wild turkeys must be started before we can sneak the last bit of kids' or grandkids' candy from their Trick Or Treat bags.And then it's gonna snow.
I had the pleasure and honor of teaching a bright , industrious , well mannered , all 'round superlative young gentleman one of the skills of country living today. He learned the safety , mechanics , safety , safety , and most importantly all the safety tips I know about using a chainsaw to get in the firewood today.He did very well , and held onto a couple of fistfuls of the fabric of my overalls while I felled a couple of trees today. Something my orthopedist would have a heart attack over if he saw me doing , but for which The Student was not ready , there being some tricky gusts of wind. Sam , you were great. He earned a decent check for his labor , and I earned a huge grin from him while bragging to his Dad and Mom about him when they came to pick him up.
Enjoy it all , every moment. It's rich and full and beautiful ,and everyone can have some of it.I'm sorry about my messup of the format - hope you caught a smile or a memory of your own while I thought of some of mine.Love each other.Hoping I'm gonna launch this mess about 6:00 - 6:30 AM Pacific time - and I promise to learn how to do better.