Blustery Days

The weather took a turn yesterday and I was surprised to see that in one day, New York had switched to light fall fashions.  Hoodies were out, folks shrouded themselves in navy and chestnut colors, and I felt very out of place in my white, pink and peacock checked shirt.  I secretly, if metaphorically,  embraced anyone I spied on the streets wearing pink or white.  Labor Day has not yet passed!!!!

(This whole "no white after Labor Day" rule reminds me of the days when, as a supremely hefty twelve year old I began wearing white jeans.  Every day.  Even though I had no business wearing white jeans. Not that anyone did, but certainly not me, in November.  Every day.  It's an approach to fashion that I had then and still mostly do.  I find a fashion trend I like and I grab onto it for dear life.  If it makes me feel comfortable and somewhat in place, I will return to it again and again to reunite reclaim that sensation.  Variety is not the spice of my somewhat limited fashion life.

Anyway, white jeans became so prevalent in my fashion that my beautiful and somewhat snarky French teacher Madame Bare gave me the french name of "Blanchet" deriving from the French word for white.  And lest you think that I was being paranoid, she actually told me at the end of the year that she had named me that because... I always wore white jeans.  I believe she said this right after she told me that though I had driven her a bit bananas at times, she had enjoyed having me in her class.  Touche, Madame.  But at least my name wasn't... MADAME BARE!!!!  Although, snarkiness aside, she did, along with old Judy Garland movies, greatly fuel my love of the musical by sharing her cast album of Cats in our Language Arts class.  I played "Jennyanydots" over an over and over.  I know that any self respecting musical theatre fan shows a blatant disdain for it, but I will always have a soft spot for Cats.)

They've been saying we have a tropical storm in our near future, but what was supposed to arrive today has now been pushed off until tomorrow.  We will see if this becomes a reality or if it is yet another disaster that... blows over.  Me, as long as everyone is safe, I wouldn't mind a bit of a storm.  Dramatic weather has the tendency to remind me that things are not the same day after day after day.  Change comes unexpectedly and inevitably and some times you just have to cuddle up and watch the wind and rain rattle the things that thought they were safely settled.

Illustration by E.H. Shepard


Of course, after the storm blows over we are supposed to return to late summer weather, so until late September we will probably keep the off-white, aging a/c units in our windows.  Both because we don't want to suffer, and because we have become used to to cool comfort.