Urge for Going

Today feels like fall -- crisp and even chilly. I took the dogs outside this morning and heard geese calling, and soon a flock flew overhead. One of my favorite Joni Mitchell songs came to mind:

I awoke today and found the frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky, then it gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
and all the trees are shivering in a naked row
I get the urge for going but I never seem to go

I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in

I had me a man in summertime
He had summer-colored skin
And not another girl in town
My darling's heart could win
But when the leaves fell on the ground, and
Bully winds came around, pushed them face down in the snow
He got the urge for going
And I had to let him go

He got the urge for going
When the meadow grass was turning brown
Summertime was falling down and winter was closing in

Now the warriors of winter they gave a cold triumphant shout
And all that stays is dying, all that lives is getting out
See the geese in chevron flight flapping and a-racing on before the snow
They've got the urge for going, and they've got the wings so they can go

They get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down and winter is closing in

I'll ply the fire with kindling now, I'll pull the blankets up to my chin
I'll lock the vagrant winter out and bolt my wandering in
I'd like to call back summertime and have her stay for just another month or so
But she's got the urge for going and I guess she'll have to go

She gets the urge for going when the meadow grass is turning brown
And all her empire's falling down

It may be a little premature, since it's only just September and there's no frost or snow out there. But I always think of this song when the weather begins to change in the fall!

(Photo: Asbury Park, yesterday.)

Twins

Look what's turned up in the parking lot of my apartment complex -- another brand new Honda Fit, nearly identical to Florence! (Who's on the left.) I'm not sure who owns pseudo-Florence, but they certainly have good taste. They need a spoiler, though.

I know I'm being shockingly suburban, talking about my car all the time. I'll try not to make it a habit.

I'm not sure what we're going to do with our Labor Day weekend. With Earl marching up the coast we're supposed to get some rainy weather tonight and tomorrow, so I doubt we'll have much outdoor time on the agenda. Dave will probably cook tonight, and I might go into the city on Monday, depending on what the weather is doing. In any case I feel like I need to exercise my creative muscles, maybe take some pictures. We'll see!

Thursday

Not much to tell this week, which is why I haven't been writing with my "office" photos. In fact I've been holding off posting because there's a third office photo I want to take, but I haven't been able yet. I'll get around to it eventually. I have to be in the office at just the right time, and I have to figure out how to do it without my coworkers realizing what a freak I am.

Some of you asked why my car is named Florence. There really is no reason, except Florence nicely alliterates with Fit, so I can call her Florence the Fit. (I guess she could just as easily have been Harriet the Honda.) Florence is one of those old-lady names that hasn't yet gained retro-fashionable status, you know? There are lots of Emmas and Olivias these days, but few Florences -- or Ediths, Irenes and Ednas, for that matter.

I have been learning a lot this week about the area where I'm working and the towns I'm covering -- lots of background knowledge that won't appear immediately in print, but will definitely help me gain perspective on local issues.

I'm glad Hurricane Earl will apparently spare us any serious damage this weekend! Dave and I got a gift card to a restaurant in Asbury Park from one of our friends, and we were thinking about using it tomorrow or Saturday -- and then we thought, "Maybe driving down to the shore in a hurricane isn't a good idea!" But it looks like it won't be a big deal.

(Photo: Light fixture at Pam's house in Southampton, last weekend.)

Office 2

Office

Traffic

During my long car-less period in Manhattan, I forgot what it's like to drive in traffic. I know that sounds silly, since traffic is a daily frustration in Manhattan, but I never took cars there. I bet I rode in a cab twice a year.

Now that I have Florence, I'm reacquainting myself with traffic. The route I take to work usually isn't congested by the time I set out, so most days my commute isn't crazy. But Saturday's drive back from Southampton was a lesson in traffic.

The east end of Long Island during the summer is insane. The roads are narrow, two-laned and designed for country driving, not hordes of shiny Escalades and Jaguars. So even before I left, I was dealing with packed roadways. (Fortunately, Florence is pretty small, and can zip into parking spaces that Escalades couldn't consider.)

On the way back, an accident on the Sunrise Highway brought traffic to a dead stop near the town of Bohemia. I sat amid a sweltering sea of cars for maybe half an hour before I noticed that people were driving through a gap in a fence up ahead to get to an access road beside the highway. The procedure looked pretty dangerous, but I did it anyway. Thus freed from the "parking lot," I found an alternate route with the help of my trusty iPhone. (Unfortunately I had to get around a huge park. I've always been a supporter of parks, but at that particular moment I wanted to pave a road through the middle of it.) Anyway, I was back on the road after an hour or so's delay.

That didn't end the traffic, though. The Belt Parkway through Brooklyn was also heavy with cars. I guess everyone was out because it was such a nice day. Fortunately these cars were moving, and at one point, when I crested a rise near Coney Island, I was struck by how beautiful those shiny rivers of cars could be.

I crossed the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which gave me a spectacular view of Manhattan and New York Harbor. Pretty cool!

It took me about four hours to get home -- not entirely unpleasant, and certainly an adventure.

(Photo: Pam's kids created their own version of traffic, playing follow-the-leader on bicycles with a neighborhood pal.)

Lush Life

I had a great little mini-vacation in Southampton with my friend Pam and her kids. I drove out on Friday morning, and had a relatively effortless trip -- which surprised me, because I thought I might get caught up in New York rush hour traffic. I left early to avoid it, and apparently did! I enjoyed cruising along in my little car, my music on, the sunlight sparkling through the piece of cut lead crystal that hangs from my rearview mirror. (I call it my "disco ball.")

In Southampton I did a little of everything. Yesterday I picked up some Ina Garten cake mixes for Dave, and spent lots of time playing with Pam's kids and catching up with Pam. I hadn't been to see her there since January 2009, so we were long overdue for a visit. (Especially since she now lives in Boston. Her place in Southampton is a vacation home.) Before that, I think my last visit was July 2007 -- time flies!

I was fascinated by her swimming pool at night -- maybe because I'd had a few glasses of wine! It was fun to experiment with photographing the pool, and Pam in it. I actually really love the top picture.


I also visited my friend Stuart, who lives near Sag Harbor (and who I visited in September 2008). Stuart recently bought a Porsche Carrera, and he took me for a spin. It was a blast. It was also a little insane. Every time he hit the gas, the force of the acceleration pushed me back into the seat and the blood rushed to (or from?) my head. I tried not to look at the speedometer.

(I took Stuart for a spin in Florence, too. I laughed at how well our cars expressed our personalities -- his thumping with a Madonna remix, mine crooning Johnny Mathis.)

I went running this morning, and was surprised to find it pretty effortless. It always surprises me how easily running comes when I'm in a new place -- I think my brain is distracted by new surroundings and not focusing on how much my heart is pounding! I ran on quiet, woodsy, hilly roads with lots of scenery, and the weather was cool and spectacular. I passed within a few feet of several deer.

Then Pam and the kids and I went to the beach -- a quiet little beach on Peconic Bay -- and also to Sag Harbor for brunch. Finally, back in the car and home again -- an ordeal that I will relate tomorrow!