September 23: Honeybee, Homecoming, Film Appreciation 101

Now it is early September, and the paths are clogged.  I look to water to see sky.  It is the time of year when a honeybee beats feebly at the inside back window of every parked car.  A frog flies up for every foot of bank, bubbles tangle in a snare of blue-green algae, and Japanese beetles hunch doubled on the willow leaves.  The sun thickens the air to jelly; it bleaches, flattens, dissolves.  The skies are a milky haze--nowhere, do-nothing summer skies.  Every kid I see has a circular grid on his forehead, a regular cross-hatching of straight lines, from spending his days leaning into screen doors.

Many things happen in September.  As Dillard points out, honeybees slow down, end up in car windows.  Skies become milky white.  The sun becomes white and large.  Young people become . . . wistful at the end of summer.  And football games begin on Friday nights.

Tonight was homecoming at my daughter's school.  The air was crisp.  Popcorn and pizza were everywhere.  The cheerleading squads were trying to outshout each other.  My daughter was in the band, and the band was playing as loud as it could.  "Louie Louie" and the school fight song.  Floats were paraded.  A king and queen were crowned.

We left after half-time, when the pep band was done.  The moon was high and bright.  When we got home, it was hot chocolate and pajamas.  Right now, my daughter and I are watching The Social Network.  For the last couple weeks, that's what we've been doing.  I've been picking movies for us to watch.  Like a little father/daughter film club.  Last night, it was Billy Elliot.  Some other recent screenings:  Little Miss Sunshine and The Wonder Boys and Juno.  Call it Film Appreciation 101.  In a day or so, I'm thinking of moving on to Quentin Tarantino.

Homecoming has come and gone.  I am home.  It is late.  The movie just ended, and my daughter went to bed.  September is drawing to a close.  Time to start the countdown.

Twelve more days until Saint Marty's Day.  Time to decorate your Saint Marty's Day tree.

Queen Elizabeth's Saint Marty's Day Card