Puffs of Fall Clouds on a Sunny Monday

7:21

Maples turning in Front of our House

Paddling along Long Point

Kayaks Beached at Long Point Pavilion

Bicyclists along the Leafy Arches of Long Point Park

7:29

Slept in a bit, 7:30, sunshine fills the living room, Morning Joe on Sirius, coffee, a full day ahead of sun and the high in the 60's.  How lucky are we here at the lake?  Not much action on the lake, as the fishing tournament from this weekend has ended.  The sun is so blinding right now I have to sit in another chair.

Yesterday was supposed to be a rainy day...it was"t and it didn't.  Anyways, it was a great morning so we hurriedly got ready to kayak and hike over at Long Point.  It was an easy paddle over to the Pavilion and back, and we had over an hour walk through the woods, as the leaves are just beginning to turn, just a few have fallen.  We met a couple of people walking their dogs but other than that, we had the park to ourselves.  There is something about walking in the woods, as opposed to a street, that I never get tired of, the quiet I suppose, the changing vista, now still green with leaves, our view obscured, the softness of the earth, the occasional scurry of an animal, usually a chipmunk, the flutter of a bird, all combine for a visceral experience.  And I remember walks from the past years, when it was snow filled, with the Albarrans four years ago, the Bissell's last winter, or the cross country skiing and snow shoeing through the woods two years ago.  Thus, I see the woods in the present and past as I walk, and they are never the same.  

During the afternoon, I watched the US lose in a dramatic style to the Europeans in the Ryder Cup, the Americans making mistake after mistake, the Europeans taking advantage of it, going crazy when they won.  There is nothing like winning a championship as a team, the thrill and excitement ephemeral, yet unforgettable.  I can still remember our excitement beating Kentucky in the NCAA regionals back in 1964, winning a couple of Service League Championships in Honolulu, and of course, winning the Turkish League championship in 1975.  For a moment, everything is forgotten, all our brothers, and this bond created by this winning is long lasting, holds true today, as some of my closest bonds remain with players from college and Istanbul.  When we get together,  even after forty years, the ties remain and we are comfortable with each other, remembering those days. 

For dinner, Evie made penne with garlic, chard and white beans, a really tasty vegetarian meal, one we will have to make more often.  We watched a wonderful French movie called THE HEDGEHOG, based on a French novel called THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOG.  Like most foreign movies, it's slow moving, artsy, serious, and in the end, satisfying.  In this film, a precocious twelve year old decides she does not want to live 'like a fish in a fishbowl' and decides to commit suicide on June 16th, the day her school year ends.  Leading up to this, we see her family, through her eyes, detestable in their boredom and sameness, as she films them were her camera.  Things change when a Japanese man moves into her apartment  building and she becomes friends with the lonely and lowly concierge in her building.  She develops a touching relationship with her concierge, finds out she has a room full of books, is a real person, and the Japanese resident also develops a friendship with the concierge as well, changing her life and that of the young girl.  It's well worth watching.