Cardigans, Calliopes, and Candidates: Notes from a Chilly October


My Dear Columbia,
First, the chill. It arrived off the Susquehanna like an uninvited uncle, and the whole borough has been fishing cardigans out of cedar chests and denying that anyone saw them shivering in October. 

The leaves have taken the hint. They lie in russet and saffron drifts along Locust, Chestnut, and every street between, newly fallen, as leaves are wont to do. They gather in the gutters like gossips at the Market House, and no one is in any hurry to sweep them up. Do take a moment to appreciate them before the leaf collection truck does.

Now, the great occasion. By long custom, the Lions Club and the Sunsnappers hold our Mardi Gras "Halloween" Parade on the fourth Thursday of October, and this year that was the 22nd. For those unacquainted with the arrangement, it stepped off at seven o'clock from the fire department at 10th and Manor, and wound toward Locust before ending. And the finale has always been the steam calliope. This correspondent considers it the only honest way to end a parade, because nothing says "the evening is over" quite like an ear-splitting calliope.

Lest the Halloween frolics leave you thinking this a season of pure frivolity, there is also the matter of the ballot on Tuesday, November 3rd.  This author urges you to read what each candidate has said, attend a forum if one is near, ignore rabid Facebook pages, and judge for yourself.

So, dear Columbia, wrap up warmly, watch your step among the leaves, and get yourselves to the polls on November 3rd.

Yours in all things autumnal, with the greatest affection,
Cassandra 

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