Fall = Time

Why hello, fall weather. So nice of you to show up. I know, I know, I ran into you in Chicago last weekend and it was awkward. Really, I wasn't ready to see you again. But now that I'm back Downstate I can say, for certain, that I'm glad you're back. I don't like watching high school football games in 90-degree weather. Without you, it just feels wrong.

But now, with you back, I will pledge to wear a sweatshirt and jeans every day. That's a promise. Really. Maybe flannel every once in a while.

One thing, though: Could we not move so fast, so soon? I like you and all, but I think we just need to ease into this. I don't want to get sick. Please.

My back pages

The inch-thick sheet of ice that caked the entire sidewalk block of my apartment melted today, thanks to the 66-degree weather this afternoon. That's right, 66. It will go from 66 to below zero in a matter of days. I used to think that Michigan had messed-up weather, but now I know Missouri takes the cake.

I guess it doesn't matter how cold it is, though, since it's winter sports season and I'm inside all the damn time. This week, I went to three different sporting events at Waynesville High School. I have pep-band renditions of popular music permanently stuck in my head. Mostly classic rock fare - the band's rendition of "Carry On, Wayward Son" is the main offender here, along with the team's fight song, which I'm pretty sure really is "Eye of the Tiger," seeing as how they play it every timeout. The third-most-played song, though? Green Day. "Holiday." Damn if it isn't really catchy when played by a pep band...now that I think about it, brass makes it a better song.

Anyway, enough horseplay: tomorrow marks my very first sports "section." I got one-and-a-half pages instead of one because there's never anything for the "outdoors" page and no one actually wants to write anything. So I was able to write two long features. Both are about wrestling. Go to the SadBear blog for more info on the Minnesota wrestler, it's a weird story...) No electronic link yet, but you can see the layout. Here you are: