Seasonality

In general, I'm in favor of fall. It seems the appropriate way to follow up summer. It's mid-October now, which is the best of times and the worst of times. Worst, because it becomes nearly impossible to avoid pumpkin-flavored stuff. Clearly there are people who look forward to the time of year when pumpkin is ubiquitous. For that I blame Starbucks and their insidious Pumpkin Spice Lattes, but don't count me among the pumkiphiles. Best, because it's the one time of year to use my favorite superlative, spooktacular. This year, I think I will expand that seasonal usage to include spooktacles, spooktator, and, of course idle spookulation.

I teach in a Jewish school, where mention of Halloween is discouraged, but it's hard to avoid it when you're out and about. It's apparently the second biggest holiday after Christmas in terms of its economic impact. I'm sure it's a big deal for candy makers and for Chinese manufacturers of costumes and plastic buckets shaped like pumpkins. And if you think Chinese workers who make high-end athletic attire are well treated, just imagine how good things are for the costume and novelty workers.

Today is October 12, which those in my generation know as the actual day when Columbus didn't discover America, as opposed to Monday, which is the day when we celebrate his not discovering America by our not being able to go to the bank.

I'm also in the midst of my seasonal change in exercise programs, which in the past has essentially been a transition from riding my bike 5-6 times a week for over 100 miles to nothing. I am going to try hard not to let that happen this year, but haven't decided yet whether to get a lot of heavyweight riding gear (and snow tires, maybe with tire chains!) or find something to do inside. The thing is, though, that inside here in cold weather is a place to drink red wine and sit by the fire, not pretend to ride on an exercise bike. But getting out of shape? That would be unspookable.