Monthly Archives: October 2012

October is Homecoming.

It is the high school football field with the pep band in the stands playing “Tequila” over and over, mercilessly.

It is a return to a simpler time, a gathering of old friends, a remembrance of the past.

It is a Norman Rockwell painting we can all live in, breathe deeply of, smell and taste and embrace for thirty-one days in the fall.

Homecoming at my high school is, I’m told, this Friday. Some of my fondest high school memories were those Friday night football games. The band, the game, the cool autumn nights. It all combined to become something permanently etched in my memory. One of my greatest regrets is that I never bothered to get a letterman’s jacket at the time.

Take a minute or two today and look back at that time in your life, a time before mortgages or car payments or any of the other Big Adult Things found you and took hold. Remember seeing your friends everyday, laughing too loud, being more spontaneous because you just didn’t know any better.

And, when you do, I hope what you remember makes you smile.

Happy October.

I think part of my struggle for October words this season has been the weather. It’s been warm. And dry. And not October-y at all.

And then today, when I was leaving work, there was a moment of near-prefect October.

The light was perfect. The sky was grey, both dark and light. It was just about to rain but the drops hadn’t yet begun to fall. The wind whipped through the trees that line the parking lot. The pavement was still wet and dark from a shower that had just passed. The leaves from the trees, mostly a deep brick red, were everywhere.

And that, my friends, was when October hit me. Full-force.

Now my mind is whirling with all the stuff I need to write about by the end of the month. So much October to fit into what’s left of, well, October.

Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be rapid-fire starting tomorrow. Suggestions welcome.

There’s a place in Northeast Portland, an overpass that crosses I-84, that I have long believed might be something more than just an overpass.

I’m fairly certain that it is, in fact, a portal into hell.

There’s something about this time of year, halfway through October specifically, when the darkness of winter is just beginning its advance. Something happens and I start seeing things I’m sure are not really there. I’m pretty sure I saw a werewolf on Broadway downtown today. Just a couple blocks from where Trader Vic’s used to be and in broad daylight, he looked lost, confused. I’ll stipulate to the fact that I may be crazy and he may have actually just been a homeless guy but, this far into October, let’s just assume he was a werewolf.

So, anyway, this overpass in Northeast Portland. On more than one occasion over the years, I’ve seen…creatures there that could not possibly have been human. Rather, they were the kinds of creatures who looked to be turning, but hadn’t quite settled into their human forms. Or they’d settled into their human forms, but hadn’t quite gotten the nuances down. Something akin to this:

I guess, in a way, we all have those moments, when we just don’t feel comfortable in our own skin. If you’re having one of those moments, do me a favor: stay off that overpass. Y’all just freak me out.

In case it hasn’t been obvious, I’ve been kind of stumbling through these. My mind has been elsewhere. My days are filled with numbers; mind-numbing to a person so based in words. My soccer team is in shambles. My Facebook and Twitter feeds are full of politics.

Part of the problem I’m having with October lies in the fact that I just don’t think I can ever surpass last year’s full-immersion October. Pumpkin patches and corn mazes and a day in wine country for fall crush, there’s simply no way I can ever duplicate it.

I ate an apple today. That’s about as Octoberific as I’ve been able to muster. Thankfully, we’re not quite at the halfway point so there’s plenty of time to catch up.

I’ll do better. We’ll get this thing done.

Today, October friends, I give you candy corn.

First created in the 1880s, candy corn has become a staple of the October diet. You may not like it but, if someone offers it to you, you eat it. You can’t help yourselves. There’s no shame in it. Years ago, I found a quote online that referred to candy corn as the crack cocaine of the confectionary world. I just went looking for the source of said quote and, stupidly, found a link to last year’s blog post about fancy corn. Stupid internet.

It’s Sunday. You’re all lazing around. Make your own.

And here’s a horrible idea that I know you all are just DYING to try: fancy corn martinis.

ZOMG Cancy corn vodka. Please note: this post was made in March. March, people.

One more. Now, you can bathe in the scent of candy corn. I’m not sure why.

Okay, so I’ve been to Trader Vic’s a number of times since they reopened here in Portland. Never once have I had a pina colada there. You want to know why? Because their thing is mai tais. MAI TAIS. A whole menu of mai tais. The sad, lonely pina colada isn’t on any of the three drink menus.

This is incredibly disturbing, especially in a town like Portland, a town inhabited by any number of blutbads and other creatures who might be in the market for a cocktail at a downtown tiki bar.

I wonder what Warren Zevon would say.

I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain
He was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook’s
Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein

Aaoooooo!
Werewolves of London!
Aaoooooo! (Repeat)

If you hear him howling around your kitchen door
Better not let him in
Little old lady got mutilated late last night
Werewolves of London again

Asoooooo!
Werewolves of London!
Aaoooooo! (Repeat)

He’s the hairy-handed gent who ran amuck in Kent
Lately he’s been overheard in Mayfair
Better stay away from him
He’ll rip your lungs out, Jim
I’d like to meet his tailor

Aaoooooo!
Werewolves of London!
Aaoooooo! (Repeat)

Well, I saw Lon Chaney walking with the Queen
Doing the Werewolves of London
I saw Lon Chaney, Jr. walking with the Queen
Doing the Werewolves of London
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s
And his hair was perfect

Aaoooooo!
Werewolves of London!
Aaoooooo! (Repeat)
Draw blood…

The fog has returned. Two days in a row here, holding strong through a significant part of yesterday.

I’m well aware that fog has been known to appear at any time of year, but it seems to take on a special significance in October.

Because October is creepy. If October were a place, it would be a safe harbor for all things sinister and monstrous. It holds mystery and terror and is a breeding ground for all those things that make the hair at the back of your neck stand on end.

And all those things are perfectly happy to be shrouded in a thick grey cloak of fog.

I’m looking forward to heading out this morning into the fog. Perhaps I’ll meet a nice werewolf and we’ll go get a pina colada at Trader Vic’s.

For years, I’ve counted October 10th as my anniversary as a writer. It’s silly and sentimental but, if you’re reading this, you know these two things are cornerstones of my personality.

I have a hard time writing in the summer. There always seems to be so much going on. Admittedly, I did more writing than I expected to this summer, but it ended up being in a field I never expected to be writing about.

But here we are in October and I’m slowly shifting over to my usual October creepiness.

Darkness.

You pause there, in that circle of light. Do you dare set foot beyond it?

Happy October, kids.

Another short post today as I’m still recovering from my Seattle adventure. Apologies.

Everywhere I look, spiders.

This is how I know October has arrived. They are everywhere.

Spiders have become a symbol of October and, more specifically, Halloween. Spiders themselves tend to give me the creeps, but their webs are fascinating. I hope someday to be half as good a knitter as spiders are weavers.

Well, that was an awkward sentence. Hrmph.

So, go look for some spiders. Don’t squish them. They eat the other crawlies.

Happy October.

I know. I’m late. Apologies.

I’m a bit distracted by the most basic of October Thoughts today, as I have been over the last few days.

Today, I’m going to spend some time with my friends.

Like I’ve said before, I still tend to live my life by the school calendar. A summer free-for-all where we all scatter to the four winds, a September when we try to settle down and try to get ourselves back into a normal routine and then October.

October is for the gathering of the tribe, the time to come together to celebrate the harvest and renew relationships with those we may not have seen much over the summer.

Today is a little different for me. Today, I’ll be a part of a gathering of 1,500 members of the Timbers Army traveling 180 miles to the north to face our most hated rivals. A great deal of pride and passion and love will be shown today.

Every year at this time, I find myself a part of some gathering, be it a wedding, a memorial, a homecoming or this insane, rolling tailgate-convoy, that makes me thankful for those around me. Without each and every one of you, I’m not sure who I would be.

Thank you.

Happy October.

#RCTID