I've never been one to take the weather too much to heart; it is what it is.
I'm not particularly afraid of storms or anything like that.
But this morning I woke up about 5, a couple of hours earlier than necessary. I guess partly because the Giants/Tigers World Series game I was halfway watching over the pages of a James Patterson book was over about 10:30 and I didn't read 'til much past midnight, a little earlier than my usual.
Five hours of sleep is my usual, so up I was.
First thing I noticed was that it was raining, dark and raining. I could tell it wasn't all that warm either.
The first signs of winter.
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There are good things and bad things about winter, mostly bad.
It's mostly too cold to play golf.
It's mostly too dreary to be in a good mood.
The days are too short, the nights too long.
Once in a while we'll get a good 6-inch snow and it's fun to get out and slide down a few overpasses or levees or such, being we're in an area with such limited access to hills. But that's the kind of thing you need some kids around to spice up, and mine are grown and gone and the granddaughters are just plain gone.
Maybe we can coordinate a good snowstorm with hijacking the granddaughters over the Christmas break.
That's a hopeful scenario, but it might work out.
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After the Cardinals bombed out against the Giants (I think Barry Zito's junk put them all in a slump for a few critical games), my interest in baseball is limited, being the good Cardinal fan that I am.
But I thought My Dear Sweet Sainted Wife would revert to her childhood and pick up the flame for the Giants, but I was wrong. She's still so steamed that the Cardinals lost she won't even acknowledge that the Giants/Tigers series is on the TV.
Me, I can watch it, so long as I've got a good book to read between high spots in the action (which with baseball, is about 90 percent of the time).
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My golf buddy Dr. Matt Jones has reconstructed his game enough to beat me two matches in a row, getting us back to tied all-time in our ongoing drink bet match. We're about to run out of golf weather so maybe we can stay tied over the winter and pick it up again in the spring. I keep losing regularly to Robby Minyard and Mike Gentry, even though Gentry's playing almost as poorly as I am. That's a big almost, though.
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One good thing about winter coming on is it gives me no excuse not to get over to the hospital workout center and do a little weight lifting and walking on the machines; there's just nothing else better to do. I used to spend the winters playing basketball, but that's a thing of the past. I can tell that just by stepping on the scales every morning. Besides, a $45-a-month bank draft ought to be good for something.
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I liked Andy Weld's column Wednesday, pointing out some of the better aspects of this town of ours. Like anyplace else, it's got it's good points and bad points, good people and bad people. And a bunch of points and people in between.
Sometimes politics insinuates itself and overrides the personal, and it's hard to imagine how our town can get out from under so many problems of such a wide variety.
If winter wasn't coming on, I'd think a little more positively about things, I guess.
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But hey, spring training is only two and a half months away.
dtennyson@blythevillecourier.com