And all of a sudden, it’s Autumn. Leaves are turning a beautiful golden color.
Autumn is my favorite season. The bright, warm colors of the leaves are the perfect contrast to the cool, crisp temperatures, and the sky never looks more blue than it does in the fall.
I need to head up to the Bison Range - the elk rut is on and their bugling ought to be going strong by now!
Just finished reading “To Kill a Mockingbird”, for the umpteenth time. It’s one of my very favorite books and never gets old. The movie was great, and followed the book to the letter, but you just can’t beat the feel, the smell and the brain stimulation of a really good book.
“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.”
Sea Fever, by John Mansfield
Oh, how I miss the ocean! This is one of my favorite poems and stirs up so much in my heart and soul. The ocean makes me feel so connected and yet so free. The smell of the salt air, the cry of the gulls and the roar of the waves crashing on the rocks near the shore. I think I have been the happiest and most at peace at the Oregon coast. I need to go again, and soon! .
Seriously. In the middle of town in Enterprise, Alabama there is a pest on a pedestal - the boll weevil. In the late 1800s to early 1900s, cotton was king, not just in Enterprise but all over the southern US. The entire town of Enterprise and it’s residents livelihoods depended solely on the cotton industry.
By the time the weevils hit Enterprise, they had already
been national news, and it didn’t take long for the residents to see first hand
what kind of destruction the weevil could bring; entire fields lay bare, and
everything, entire lives were changed, literally overnight.
With no money from the cotton, there was no money for food, clothing, tools, or home products; and no money to pay back the bank. Entire homes were in jeopardy; everything in the town was built or purchased from the income from the cotton. But the destructive boll weevils nearly wiped out the entire town of Enterprise.
But more changes were coming. Roughly 75 miles north, at Tuskegee University, was a young man who would change everything, for Enterprise, for Alabama and for the entire southern US. His name was George Washington Carver, and how he changed the success of the south was to introduce a new crop that was resistant to the evil weevils - peanuts. Carver led to the development and introduction of the many uses for the lowly peanut, which increased the demand for the peanuts the farmers would eventually grow.
Up until 1915, no one planted peanuts, and any that happened to grow were used as fodder for pigs and cattle. It was only when the weevil wiped out the cotton crop that the Enterprise farmers tried something new.
In the middle of the town of Enterprise now stands a statue of a woman holding a boll weevil overhead. Many businesses have jumped on the band wagon as well, with human-sized boll weevils perched outside of numerous businesses, offices and shops. There is a fireman boll weevil, a school teacher boll weevil in front of the school, a police officer boll weevil, a doctor & nurse in front of the local medical center, a mechanic weevil, a chef weevil in front of a pizza parlor and even a McWeevil in front of the local McDonald's. There is the BOWL weevil bowling alley, the Boll Weevil Soap Company and the Boll Weevil Bakery. There are t-shirts referring to the pesky bugs, including one that says “Fear No Weevil”.
Tourism to Enterprise has exploded since the parody weevils showed up, and people come from all over the US to see them, have their photos taken with them, and but weevil souvenirs, and the town is thriving.
The town mayor states that it isn’t paying homage to the weevils, but rather a reminder of what they have overcome.
Stopped at Wendy’s on my way home this afternoon for a take out supper; I did not feel like fixing anything... There was a young man ahead of me who was ordering something to go, and his total came out to $8.00 and change. He opened his wallet and pulled out some cash, and was $1.90 short. He stood there for a moment, looking very embarrassed that he didn’t have enough money, and then told the cashier that he didn’t have enough to pay for it, and started to back away.
I pulled two one dollar bills out of my wallet and gave it to him. He looked completely stunned, and asked, “Are you sure?” I assured him that it was fine, and he took the money and just stood there, looking utterly surprised. Then he turned and handed the money to the cashier, got his change (ten cents), and handed me the dime. I told him to put it in the adoption box, which he did, and then looked at me and said, “That’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”
I smiled at him and said, “You can thank me by doing something nice for someone else.” He thought about that for a moment and then gave me a smile and said, “Yeah... I will!” and then left. As I was getting into my car, I saw him get out of his car, walk up to a homeless person sitting on the lawn by the sidewalk, and give the old man his French fries.
Pass it on.
