Oh, you'll have your crisp mornings. You'll get your leaves turning colors, as long as it's yellow. You'll get your 12 hours of daylight, your 12 hours of night. A few days later, kawhomp, all the leaves fall, a big storm blows in, it's freezing cold at noon and maybe we'll even have snow.
Oh, we have four seasons. As the joke goes, there's almost winter, winter, it's still #$*@!% winter and road construction. See? We're on track.
So get out your snow shovels, your heavy coats, your skis and your ice scrapers. Welcome to fall. Hello, winter.
While contemplating the inevitable and getting up the courage to face winter, hey, why not try out some of these Best Bets?
BEST CUTE, FLUFFY DOG BET: They're cute, they're adorable, they're house trained and they want to be your friend. No, no, no, I'm not talking about political candidates I mean dogs. The cutest dang movie star dog ever is Benji, of course. Benji's new movie, "Benji, Off the Leash," starts this week at the Homer Theatre. The 6 p.m. Friday showing is a benefit for the Homer Animal Shelter, with a portion of the take going to the new building fund, so take the kids and support your local canine (and feline) buddies.
BEST IN THE GROOVE BET: Sure, the Baby Boomers had rock 'n' roll, but the Greatest Generation had big bands and dances that involved more than just standing around and acting goofy. Wanna swing? Wanna shuffle and slide and dip your partner? Pick up a few moves as Swing Fever plays at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Land's End Resort. A fund-raiser for the Homer Council on the Arts, tickets are $25. You can also go dancin' at a community dance and potluck from 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday at West Homer Elementary School. Tickets are $8, with discounts for Homer Council on the Arts members and youth.
BEST A TOUGHER BEAT THAN CITY HALL BET: You think covering a big-box store hearing at the Homer City Council is tough? At least you don't have to worry about improvised explosive devices, car bombs or terrorist kidnappings. Dahr Jamail is an Alaska freelance journalist just back from his second trip to Iraq. Tonight at 7 p.m. at the Bear Claw Bakery he talks about his experiences, this week's Thursday Dialogue sponsored by Vessels of Hope.
BEST FREE VERSE BET: Former Alaska poet Frances Ruhlen McConnel returns to the state this Sunday for a poetry reading at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Bunnell Street Gallery. She used to live in Anchorage, and now teaches creative writing at the University of California in Riverside.
Don't blink, Betsteroids, or you'll miss fall. Remember those grade-school picture books of happy families frolicking in the leaves? Kids in sweaters? Tailgate picnics at football games? An autumn that lasts until the winter solstice? That is, like, so mid-latitude. Here at the latitude where it's still illegal to drive with studs (except on the Sterling Highway), fall indeed comes for about a week. That's it.
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