Barbara J. Hamby

Ready—Not Ready

I’m very ready for Writing class to start tomorrow. I need the jumpstart to get back at the memoir stories. I’ve already begun editing a few of the many stories that are drafted and stashed in my computer. The Wednesday class meets in the morning at 9:00 a.m., not my favorite choice, but I have T.O.P.S. on Thursday morning, so I can’t take the class that day, even though it’s in the afternoon. My energy is limited these days and two taxing activities in one day are more than I can manage.

I’m not ready for the colder weather that arrived today. It took me all day to get my hands warm enough to type. Also, I don’t have winter clothes that fit. Over the summer I’ve managed to pick up a few lightweight things and have others altered. I can probably wear most of my sweaters and tee shirts, because baggy doesn’t matter much, but I really don’t have pants that fit.

I have to mention what I saw in the grocery store this afternoon—sort of in the “Now I’ve seen everything” category. In the produce section there were packets hanging on a rack with small tools inside. The label said “Pumpkin Tools.” The price was, if I remember correctly, $5.99. I assume they are for carving jack-o-lanterns; tools for a once-a-year activity that, if I had them, would probably be lost by the next year. However, it’s been many years since I carved pumpkins and, with no grandchildren, I’ll probably not ever do one again. I wonder how many of those gimmicks they’ll sell.

Happy Halloween! It isn’t even October yet, and there are pumpkins everywhere.