Two months until the solstice. The ground is now hard and frozen, it is just a matter of time before it snows. There is a part of me that wants a lot of snow. And there is a part of me who wants very little snow because I don’t want to be inconvenienced.

I am looking forward (already) to spring and seeing the robins and swallows and geese return and the leaves reappear on the trees.

I will go skijoring with Hrimmi this winter, for sure. And I am going to attempt to keep the trails open.

Here, the cusp of fall and winter, and it lasts one day, is October 31, Halloween.

In previous years this event came and went, and I didn’t even know this. This year there are many events around town and I will be attending some of them, of course with books in hand.

As of today, I will have one less person working with me on Wednesdays and Fridays. No, I don’t know how I’m doing this with so little help. Money talks, and as soon as it appears and is waved in front of people’s eyes, it will be a motivator.

I wonder what it was like when money wasn’t the main bartering tool. There is something very inherent in our species, something that makes them reward driven. We don’t see ourselves as being like other mammals, but we are more like them than they are like us. As Walt Kelly’s Pogo says, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

A chilling moment today. I went to the Mat-Su Borough building, first noticing that the parking lot was full. I put two and two and two and two more together when I saw the “Vote here” sign. I next noticed the long line, which extended outside the building. I went inside, with a full box of books, and noticed that the line was in front of the first of two bookcases that I stock.

I said “excuse me” to the woman in front of the bookcase. She gave me a look as if to say, “I’m not budging, you need to get to the end of the line,” then before I could say, “I’m just stocking the bookcase,” she moved aside so that I could put the children’s books on the shelves.

This look, this reluctance to budge, it had, “I’m voting for Trump” all over it. Verified, as in heading to the second bookcase, I looked at the other voters who had her same wary expression. I thought, if the election was held today, and Alaska was a swing state, Trump would win.

I have never before felt so scared and worried before an election. If there is to be an end times, this bozo is going to lead the fray into hell and damnation. A very scary thought. I have never had this feeling before a national election before. Yes, I am worried about the outcome.

Next: 287. 10/22/24: Hey and Away We Go