I don’t know about you but…
To me October arrived rather quickly this year. To me October brings to mind the beginning of the fall season, or what is known as autumn. It also means among other things that it is time for the harvest season to begin and for playoff baseball and the quest for a World Series championship. In many places it means Oktoberfest. And of course it means it is Halloween season.
I don’t know about you but…
I think autumn is synonymous with a time of aesthetic beauty with all the leaves turning in a once-a-year display of radiant color that only Mother Nature can create. To me it means raking, blowing, bagging and mulching and a lot of hard work that gets increasingly difficult to do with each passing year. Wouldn’t have it any other way.
I don’t know about you but…
I am sure glad that those that work in the field of agriculture do what they do. Now I know I am like most of you, I get frustrated when a farm implements slows my travels on a two lane road this time of year. I have also heard all the rich farmer jokes and that the work is part-time or seasonal. But they have a tremendous responsibility of feeding an ever growing world population. Besides, I would find it frightening to have my income and net worth be subjected to the whims of someone as fickle as Mother Nature.
I don’t know about you but…
I really enjoy October baseball. The playoffs and World Series are a culmination of a long season with a chance of immortality if you are the last team standing. Now I enjoy it more when my beloved Cardinals are a participant, which unfortunately for Cardinal Nation has not been the case for the past two seasons. Nevertheless, there is something special about baseball played in October. I just wish that the games didn’t have to be played in inclement weather from time to time. Maybe a shorter regular season would mean that there would be less of a chance that the most meaningful games wouldn’t be played with temps in the high thirties and low forties. I really don’t know what the answer is.
Columbus Day also falls in October, and I don’t know about you but…
I think it is amazing that the accidental discovery of an Italian explorer and navigator over 500 years ago is still celebrated today. This discovery ushered in one of the most monumental developments of the history of our world. It is too bad that the arrival of Europeans into the Western Hemisphere had such horrible consequences on the natives in that part of the world. One thing that one cannot deny is that our country and the world would not exist as it does now without the European discovery of the “New World”.
I don’t know about you but…
I wish that Oct. 7, 2024 wasn’t the first anniversary of a horrifying event. Oct. 7, 2023 was the worst one-day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. On that day a terror attack by Hamas and other Palestinian nationalist militant groups killed or took hostage over 1,200 Israeli citizens in Israeli territory in the Gaza Strip. It is my understanding that Israel’s reprisal of this cowardly act has resulted in the death of many innocent Jewish and Palestinian people including women and children. This saddens and concerns me greatly. I know I am a bit of an idealist, but I believe that hate is wrong no matter which direction it is directed and should have no place in our world. Crazy thought?
I don’t know about you but…
But there are a couple of Kiwanis fundraising events occurring in October that are worthy of mention. The annual Kiwanis Peanut Days will take place on Friday and Saturday Oct. 19 and 20. Look for youngsters from the K Kids, Builders Clubs and Key Clubs at various locations with the vests, canisters and of course peanuts, and give generously.
Also on Saturday, Oct. 19, the Kewanee Kiwanis club will be hosting Oktoberfest at Cerno’s Bar & Grill from 6-9 p.m. This fun evening of fellowship and fundraising features stations with samples of different styles of fall and Oktoberfest beers and well as several wines. There are many fun activities planned for the evening. Tickets can be purchased in advance from a committee member, at Cerno’s or at the door.
No column about October would be complete without mention of Halloween. I don’t know about you but…
There are two Halloween activities taking place in our community that I would like to mention. The first is the time honored event of Bakersville. This year the event will be held on Saturday, Oct. 12, from 7-11:48 pm. This is the third year that the format will be presale timed ticket sales. When you buy your ticket you pick your ride time. No more waiting in line! Tickets are $10. Over 200 volunteers, including groups from both high schools, will be doing their best to entertain and scare all that attend. What a wonderful community event.
The second one is a Trunk-or-Treat taking place at Good’s main parking lot on Saturday, October 19 from 3-5 p.m. The event is part of the Enchanted Pumpkin Festival and is a fun and safe way for the little ones to have the fun of trick-or-treat activities without having to be dragged throughout the neighborhoods of Kewanee. I highly recommend this activity.
I don’t know about you but…
I think it is time to wrap up this month’s column. I do so with the thought of the month which is a Shakespeare quote. “Brevity is the soul of wit.” Maybe I should have paid this quote more heed before I rambled on and on in this month’s column. Anyway, I am getting a little sleepy. Time for a nap.
