Now that summer is officially over, summer has returned to Central New York, and procrastinators such as myself have been rewarded with the opportunity to recoup a couple of pool days that we lost out on during the joke of a summer that’s just ended, with temperatures expected to get near 90 on Sunday. It’s not often I get to thumb my nose at you guys with your perfect manicured lawns who got your pools closed right after Labor Day (yeah, I’m talking to you, Gary), this could be the weekend, and I’ll try and enjoy it while I can.

Of course, I’m not alone in my sun-revelry, as the streets here in Syracuse are filled with office workers who are normally held captive in our Dilbert land of cubicles. Most of us are shipped in from the ‘burbs, and you can see how unaccustomed (and uncomfortable) a lot of these folks are in an urban setting (as urban as things get around here, anyway). And yes, by “urban,” I mean exactly what you think I mean.

Just this morning on the shuttle down here, one woman was saying how she wasn’t very happy about having to wait for the bus with “all the drug dealers and panhandlers,” which I found to be a pretty stupid statement.

First off, while it wouldn’t surprise me if there were one or two people walking around who might have sold a controlled substance in their time (I personally plead the fifth), I haven’t noticed any “drug dealer” types. And I have a pretty good idea what to look for, too. Too bad, ‘cuz I could use a little something to get through the rest of the day.

Second, I fail to see why people get so darn irate because somebody asked them for some change. I mean, if somebody’s being menacing or threatening or something, it’s one thing. But there’s no harm in asking, right?

But, whatever.

One thing I will say is that back in the olden days, it was a lot easier to tell who the crazy people were, ‘cuz they were the ones talking to themselves – often rather loudly. Since cell phones and headsets and whatnot though, damn near everybody you see on the street is talking, laughing, or hollering at some unseen but very real to them entity.

Now the only way I can tell the crazy people is they tend to come up to me while I’m waiting for the bus and strike up a conversation. Why? I don’t know. I guess I’m not exactly a shining example of sanity myself.

Oh well, a few more hours to soldier through, and then it’s the weekend, which used to mean something to me, but now that I haven’t had a beer in over a year, about all it means is a trip to Costco and catching up on laundry. Better than working, but not a lot to look forward to.

But at least they aren’t predicting any earthquakes or hurricanes up my way, so there’s that.

If you live in Florida, you’re hopefully on the road to somewhere safe (or already there) and aren’t reading this right now. At the moment, Irma is whomping Cuba and getting ready to turn north to Florida. My brother and his life live down there (not in Miami, but in the West Palm Beach vicinity, I think), and his kids and grandkids are also in the area. It’s not the first hurricane they’ve gone through, but it looks like it’ll be the worst. They aren’t supposed to get the flooding that Texas got, and last I heard they weren’t evacuating. But I think they’re all pretty busy right now, and I expect once they lose power, it’ll be out for a while.

It’s the critters I worry about more than anything. Based on the continuous stream of puppies that get rescued from death in the Bible Belt and sent up here for adoption, they don’t seem to treat them all that well in that part of the world, even in the good times. So this kind of shit is really sad. Anyhow, good luck to everybody down that way – even to you Trump voters and climate change deniers. To paraphrase the Jesus people – it’s OK if you don’t believe in climate change, it believes in you. Or, actually, like your imaginary God, it doesn’t really give a shit about you either way. It just is. But if praying makes you feel better, by all means go for it. I’d pray for a standby generator, personally. But it might be a little late for this one.

So, it’s September now with Labor Day weekend almost upon us (or already upon a lot of us, judging by the lack of people in the office today). It was a rather crisp 41 degrees here this morning. I don’t know if that’s the coldest it’s been since our alleged “summer” began, but it felt pretty goddamn cold to me. So cold that, though I hated to do it, I decided to wear my dungaree jacket this morning. I thought I’d regret it as the day warmed up (which isn’t going to be by much), but it’s f*cking freezing (or I, at least, and freezing) here in the office, so I’m actually wearing it now. I just wish I had some mittens with me.

Unfortunately, I’m really not feeling so great today. Freezing to death is just one thing – I’ve had a headache for a couple of days now, and I’m just feeling not altogether right today. Hopefully that’ll get better when I leave, but my throat feels kind of scratchy and my nose has been drippy. And my head aint right (more – or maybe less – than usual).

It’s pretty astonishing what’s going on down there in Texas. Looks like we’re going to get some rain from it even all the way up here – though of course nothing near what those poor folks are dealing with.

And now hurricane Irma is on the way to the Atlantic Coast. Last I heard, it may or may not hit anywhere from the Caribbean, Florida, the Carolinas, or not at all. You never really know which way these things will head, so I’m sure everybody on the Atlantic Coast has one eye on the radar map at this point.

Again, up here, the worst we’ll ever get is a lot of rain (though it’ll be measured in inches, not feet). That’s one of the benefits of living in an inconsequential little town in the middle of nowhere – no hurricanes, rarely any tornadoes, and no earthquakes (maybe a little window rattler every 20 years or so, but nothing you’d notice if you’re asleep or in the shower). Yeah, it snows a little, which can be a pain in the ass, but is rarely destructive. And if it comes down to it, you can just hang out and watch teevee (or even read a book or two) until it melts.

Still, much as I prefer a little Lake Effect snow (or even a Nor’easter) to a hurricane, the chill in the air and the thought of winter coming (and everything it brings with it, like seemingly perpetual darkness and White Walkers) is kind of depressing. Especially knowing that (once again) I failed to accomplish even a fraction of my summer “must do” list, and now have to move on to thinking about (if not actually doing) accomplishing all my pre-winter chores.

Speaking of annoying but not particularly destructive (to anybody but themselves), it’s the season opener for SU football tonight. If you want tickets, don’t worry. There should be plenty available (cheap).

A rather long recent (and not so recent) history of losing seasons combined with what is not exactly a “name” opponent in Central Connecticut State, the start of Labor Day weekend, the NY State Fair, and the fact that the game is being broadcast on lo-cal teevee all combine for less than stellar ticket sales.

Sometimes I wonder why they even bother to open the season on this weekend (or at least at home). But if you believe all the experts, it should at least be an easy win (I’ve seen too many SU football games in my time to take much for granted, personally) and there aren’t likely to be many of those (easy or otherwise) this season. So maybe I’ll watch for a bit.

That is, if this crappy day ever ends.

Everybody stay dry and enjoy the weekend.