I fell into fall and didn’t know it.
After years tethered to an academic calendar, school started without me, or at least without me noticing.
Other signs of the season were there, of course. The daylight started shifting in mid-
August. Cricket and locust chirps grew more persistent. The golds and purples of wildflowers replaced the white and pink flushes in ditches and fallow fields. Still, I was surprised to see the school buses go by.
Without kids in school anymore and no grandkids (yet), my calendar is a rambling, undisciplined affair that lands mostly on work deadlines and holidays. It’s a bigger-picture type of calendar that I follow these days, marking time by seasons instead of school days. It gives me the chance to take a long view of things. My focus is broader, not narrowed by someone else’s timeline.
This broader view fits our theme, “Restore.” We profile three Boomers who conserve and preserve special things, some centuries, others decades old. Experience counts, as these conservators prove. You can read about them on page 30.
Taking the theme further, we have two stories about yoga and its enduring benefits. If you haven’t tried it or gave it up years ago, our story on page 32 provides plenty of reasons for another look. I’ve heard about goat yoga but never understood the appeal of having one graze near my yoga mat. We explain the charm of goat yoga, too.
Here’s a blast from our past: the Richfield Coliseum. Rising from fields in the middle of nowhere, the massive structure deserved the coliseum moniker. It’s now a haven for birds and bird watchers. Two decades after the Coliseum’s demolition, we’ve got a story about the property’s restoration on page 34.
We have two more Restore topics: cosmetic tattoos and side gigs. Restoring your appearance and money to your wallet are both important, and you’ll find those stories inside this issue, too.
Moving away from our theme, I want to invite readers to nominate volunteers for our annual Volunteer Salute for our November/December issue. Please email nominees to me by Oct. 20 at [email protected].
I also want to encourage you to visit our website, where we have other stories and resources for Boomers. You’ll also find the results of our Boomer Choice Awards at NortheastOhioBoomer.com.
As I write this, the school year is solidly underway without me. The morning air is chilly, the leaves have hints of color and I found a wooly bear caterpillar near the chicken coop yesterday. I’ll let others handle bus schedules, teacher conferences and marching band practices. I’ve got my own ways to mark the change of seasons, and they’re a good fit.
Read the digital edition of our Sept./Oct.’19 issue by clicking here.
