September 6, 1990
Dear Everyone:
How can you tell that autumn is just around the
corner: Easy:
Look in my refrigerator.
Under normal circumstances, the contents of my
refrigerator are fairly dismal.
Mustard, mayonnaise, pickle relish, some tired-looking lunch
meats, half a loaf of stale bread, a jar of green olives that’s seen
better days, and, of course, the usual selection of diet soft drinks.
Maybe some old fruit and a rather desiccated head of lettuce.
But then the end of August rolls around.
Autumn is coming and I start stocking up like a squirrel burying
nuts for the winter. The
Saturday before last, I went to the grocery store and spend $51.18 and
the only thing you couldn’t (safely) ingest was Cascade for the
dishwasher. This is the
exact opposite of normal for me.
I try to avoid buying food since, once you have it, you’re likely
to eat it and most of it is just chock full of calories.
“Melanie” loaned me a fascinating book on the
hibernation response in humans.
It seems that there’s this whatsis attached to your optic nerve
(don’t worry, it’s supposed to be there).
It monitors the amount of light you’re receiving.
When the sun goes down and the dark comes up, the whatsis signals
the brain that it’s time to get sleepy.
This is why we go to sleep at night.
This is also why we go to sleep during boring
meetings. Most conference
rooms are not well lit. The
whatsis measures the ambient light and tells the brain:
“Must be getting late.
Shut down ‘til morning.”
The whatsis also keeps track of how long it’s been
light. By August, the days
are getting noticeably shorter.
The whatsis notices this and sends another signal to the brain:
“Winter’s coming. Get
ready to hibernate.”
Some people find it harder to get up in the
morning. Some find that
they’re gaining weight, even if they don’t
seem to be eating any more
than normal. Others get
depressed. This is called
Seasonally Attributed Depression, or SAD.
And some of us just start eating everything in
sight. Even Franco-American
Spaghetti.
How can you tell that I’ve paid off the loan on my
car? Easy:
Last week it needed a new battery; this week, a new starter.
Last Saturday, I went to Costco.
Still stocking up. I
now have a 1.28 year’s supply of cotton balls.
And that drum of Downy fabric softener should last the better
part of 4 months, if I can figure out a way to lift it to pour the stuff
out. Having spent only
$170.60, I decided to go back to Costco on Sunday.
There were these lambskin rugs.
I thought one would go real well on the futon sofa in the second
bedroom.
If you can believe this, I was in and out of Costco
in 20 minutes. Went to
Penney’s to get a cheap new purse, the old one having disintegrated at
Costco. Swung by the grocery
store where I didn’t need to buy much, having a six month supply of just
about everything now. Got
into the car, turned the key… nothing.
My car had died.
As I told “Jeannie” later, if it had to happen, it almost
couldn’t have happened at a better time.
I was only a few miles from home.
The service station where it was towed to was across the street
from my place. I carried the
groceries home, then went back to get the rug.
I cannot, in all honesty, recommend carting a lambskin rug around
when it’s 90 degrees in the shade; but I got it home and it really does
go great on the sofa. It
will be very nice and warm when winter arrives.
“Jeannie” kindly came over Monday and spent the
night so that she could drive me to my van pool Tuesday morning.
One of the guys on the van gave me a ride home that night and my
car was ready to go, only $212.60.
If the new starter was an “Anything” part, I may get a discount
from Company.
Any other time of the year, “Jeannie” would have
starved at my place. But,
the timing being just right, there was plenty of food in the fridge.
Love, as always,
Pete
PS.
When in Ashland, I bought an honest to goodness little, brown English
Teapot. It sits on my desk,
next to the telephone. Only
problem is: When I pour
boiling water into the pot, I have to hold the kettle left-handed.
I’m afraid it’s only a matter of time before I melt my phone.
Which will make for an interesting service call, wouldn’t it?
P.
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