View From The Bridge 10/29/14

VIEW from the BRIDGE
By Muncie
10/29/14

HALLOWEEN
I sincerely hope that Friday is a nice day and all you adults/shoppers take advantage of the “Creepy Crawl.”  Look for the ad in the River Press to schedule your day. All businesses will participate with “Trick or Treat” specials and sales. If you have not noticed, Christmas decorations are everywhere. You only have 7 weeks left to get that taken care of. Why wait until the last minute when you can spend an enjoyable day browsing in Fort Benton?

My favorite activity is walking the Levee Walking Trail. What a change of scene it will be to walk on the business side of the street, collect the “Creepy Crawler” legs, visit with family and friends along the way, and enter your name to be eligible to win some fantastic prizes. Halloween is not much about adults except to hand out candy to the young Trick or Treaters.” I hope that this article gets you enthused about this “Creepy Crawl,” and the after-hours businesses “Crawl.” I am having company and they will take Gramma to the evening “Crawls.” What fun! We Senior Citizens have to keep moving or else we will not be able to move at all.

CALENDAR
By the time you receive this copy of the River Press, there will be on 2 days lefts in October. November 2nd ends Daylight Savings Time and even with the extra hour of light we still face the early dark evenings. No more evening walks, riding your bicycles, sitting on your front porch/deck, and enjoying some ice cream after dinner. Funny how time slips away. I have not thought about that song for a long while but how true.

It is also time to make your Thanksgiving and Christmas plans. Wasn’t it just a few weeks ago that we were doing that?

MONTANA
I received in my e-mail, “Greetings from MONTANA, USA.” Friends in Great Falls said that the Tribune was printing some of the facts about our state. No one seems to know where it came from and therefore I cannot give anyone credit for some of the following facts. I think them immensely interesting and that you will too.

THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT MONTANA
1.   Montana has more bookstores, birdwatchers, firearms, people who hunt, and people who fish that any other state per capita.
2.   Montana is larger than Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy. If Montana were to secede from the Union, (and there have been numerous calls to do so,) it would be the 3rd largest country in the world.
3.   Tweets originating from inside the State of Montana are larger than any other state averaging just 43 out of a possible 140 possible characters in length. (What is a Tweet?  I think it is a computer term but it could be a bird call, a small Tweety bird, a nickname for a short person, or a pinch on the cheek?) (In parenthesis is a Muncie joke. Of course I know what a Tweet is…it’s #2…a bird call.)

AROUND TOWN
There is a lot of talk about doing another deer harvest. The talk is that they are all around town but until a few minutes ago, (Sunday the 26th at 3:00 p.m.) I had not seen one. I know they are emptying the bird feeders, making a sleeping nest in the compost pile and leaving their droppings as a calling card.

As I sit here at my computer that is next to a window looking out at the back deck, I saw something flash between the deck and the house next door. There is about an 8ft. walkway there. I ran to the kitchen window that faces Main Street and saw nothing. I then went to the side door on Main Street off the kitchen. I looked north first and then south. Sure enough. There was a deer on the lawn near the curb. It took off headed west on 14th Street. I know that is the deer that is sleeping here every night. I think they are very smart. It is hunting season and they know where they are safe. When I meet you on the street, let me know your deer stories.

It reminds me of the time that grandson Morgan Wood, Venetta’s boy, was visiting and we had deer in the backyard all the time. Wally gave Morgan a bb gun and told Morgan to pop them on the rear end. Morgan was so excited and did just that. The deer jumped the stone fence and headed west on 14th with Morgan in hot pursuit. A minute or so later, Morgan is running back shouting, “Papa, Papa!  He is chasing me.” Sure enough. We supposed that the deer though that he was not going to let this little Whipper Snapper chase him away. As soon as the deer saw Wally, he took off again. I love that story Morgan. I’ll bet you never saw any deer at West Point or in Afghanistan.

NOVEMBER MOON
The full moon is on the 6th and it is called the Full Beaver Moon. This was the time of year to set beaver traps for warm winter furs. It could also be that beavers were preparing for winter. Another name is the Frosty Moon. (I prefer Beaver because Frosty indicates chilly or cold. I do not need to be reminded.)

GOD BLESS AMERICA, OUR TROOPS, and WEAR RED ON FRIDAYS.