“Autumn wears a brilliant gown
Of crimson, yellow, green, and brown.
She dances in the gold sunlight
And neath the harvest moon at night.”
“Autumn’s Dance
by Barbara W. Webee

If you want to see some great foliage, be sure you drive along Route 3 through Weymouth into Quincy. It is difficult to figure out which side of the road to watch because both sides are beautiful.

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Most of the local weather men have predicted that the weather toward the end of this week will be extremely cold. Hubby has all the storm windows pulled down except for the two windows in which we have the air conditioners. We have been in the attic to find the warmer jackets and sweaters. Hubby helped daughter Sue bring in her air conditioner the other evening. Hubby took his binoculars outside the house last Friday to see the gorgeous “Hunter’s Moon.” Then he remembered that it was a Penumbral Lunar Eclipse. Hubby, Sue, and I tried to see it on the bottom of the moon but it was too faint. Hubby thought it looked very much like a smudge. According to astronomers, North America was not the best place to see the actual shadow. Europe and Africa were much better places.

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I hope that you had a chance to see both the Patriots against New Orleans and the Red Sox vs. the Tigers a week ago last Sunday. Hubby and I did not move from in front of the TV. The ends of both their games were positively amazing. I had goose bumps during them. We didn’t know, however, that the thrills were just starting. Hubby read both the Globe and Herald early Monday morning while I was working. “Guess who this is?” was his question. Who was the police officer in the picture of the Red Sox bullpen, with his arms in the air, but my cousin, Boston Police Officer Stephen Horgan. Steve has been assigned to the bullpen this baseball season. He has grown facial hair, just like the Sox players, which I hadn’t yet seen. It is he in the pose that has gone worldwide. Stephen has already had his photo taken with Red Sox owner John Henry. (That was a thrill.) Now his image has been superimposed onto many photos. In one photo, an astronaut is shown on the moon, with Steve, in his favorite pose, standing on a ridge behind him. In another photo, we can see a group of Buddhist monks racing down a roller coaster ride, with Steve, again in his famous pose, sitting behind their group. A third photo shows the staff of the Today Show, on the air, in Rockefeller Center. It even shows the crowd outside looking in at the studio. Where is Steve but in the middle of the crowd, with his arms in his usual position. One company has even designed a green tee short (green for the “Green Monster”), with Steve in his pose on the front. We just laughed.

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There was also a great article in last Sunday’s Herald about Steve. He had seen a family of 14 members of the Cutliff Family, who went to the Sox game of Oct. 5, with Tampa Bay. They were taking photos by the Pesky Pole, honoring their Mom/Grandma, who had recently died at 92. My cousin Steve asked the youngest member of the family, eight-year-old Cole, if he had been a good boy, When he answered in the affirmative, Steve gave him a Sox baseball. The boy was thrilled. Several days later, they saw Steve in his famous pose after Big Papi’s grand slam in the bullpen and discovered his name, which they hadn’t know up to that time. Andrew Cutliff was so thrilled that Steve was the object of so much favor. “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy!” He added, “Steve will always be a part of our family.”

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We also laughed when we read in an article in the Globe that Thanksgiving and Hanukkah will fall on the same day in this year, Nov. 28. This is the latest date on which Thanksgiving can fall. Retailers are upset because the number of shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas is just 25 days. (Last year there were 31 days between the holidays.) This is why businesses like Macy’s are going to open at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day and not wait until Black Friday.

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Daughter Sue heard this question on her favorite radio station: What is the longest word that can be typed with just the left hand in the correct typing position? It is the word “stewardesses.”

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This column is short. I must apologize. We have been fixed on the TV with all the sports both on Saturdays and Sunday evenings. Never thought that Hubby, Sue, and I would be such sports fans. I, up to recent years, didn’t know which end of the bat to hold. I wish both the Red Sox and the Patriots well in the upcoming games.

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I love this saying “It’s time to offer thanks for autumn’s bounty – and start praying for an easy winter.” Anon.