Okay, people, SUMMER'S OVER...
...EVERYBODY OUT OF THE POOL!!!

I was in City Park this evening, and you know, the place almost looked forlorn. The last gasps of summer were fast drifting by as the sun set, and I was just about the only person in that large expanse. Can it be only a month or so ago that the place was still teeming with activity at 8pm; tonite at 8pm, darkness had come by then and everyone cleared outta there. I view the shortening of the days with mixed emotions. On one hand, things will (hopefully) get back to normal around here. On the other hand, shorter days mean the passing of the seasons, and I for one, just don't like the ever-earlier onslaught of darkness as it gets close to winter. Hmmm, how about that. I'm fretting about winter when fall isn't even here yet. Doesn't "summer" technically end sometime in September? But I can imagine area residents are feeling like ol' Snoopy here...



Of course, what our canine pal has failed to take into account, is that most of this area's native motorists drive just as badly, IF NOT WORSE, than a lot of the out-of-staters who've vamoosed outta here. Let's just hope Snoopy doesn't dance in the middle of the street. Of course, he probably shouldn't dance on a downtown sidewalk, either. There's probably an ordinance against that.

On another topic, I remember my Dad complaining about the CDA Press newspaper long ago (back in the '60's); way back then he griped that there was nothing in it, that he could read it in five minutes, and that the only thing the paper was good for was wrapping fish in. However, the Press isn't the only paper to be (mis) used in that manner, as this 1906 photo-postcard demonstrates...



As you can see, this fish was caught locally. You know something else my Dad used to tell me? He'd comment about a dead fish, saying, "see what happens when you open your mouth?" He was indeed a cheery soul. And a fly-fisherman. Actually, I hear the absorbency of your standard low-grade newsprint works quite well for purposes such as this. But newsprint is a multi-use commodity...I had a noisy cockatiel (that I later got rid of), but the dimensions of the local newsprint conformed quite well to the bottom of the bird cage. There. THAT oughta get the goat of any newspaper slave who's trying to get back to work after a Labor Day vacation! Speaking of goats and newsprint...don't they eat the stuff? Baaaaa...

However, speaking of things my Dad said about the local media, he didn't limit his comments to newspapers; he once complained that KVNI (back in the '60's) had "6 or 7 different records, and they just kept repeating them all day". Nowadays, though, there are no records. Just piped-in music that evidently comes from compact discs, because I've heard 'em skip on the air. There was one "oldie" that would play 75% of the way through, then there'd be a 'glitch' and the song would go back to the beginning and play all over again, 75% of the way thru. This particular time, it happened 3 or 4 different times. (for about 10 or 15 minutes) Ah, the wonders of broadcast automation!
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Well, now that I've got EVERYONE mad at me, I'll end this madness. This particular post has no socially redeeming value whatsoever. Or if it does, it's "news" to me!