She's out of control!

Flirtatious: That's some Fig LEAF you're sportin' there Eve.

Real Mood: Meanderous

Prediction: The day after thanksgiving will not be the busiest shopping day of the year. (Urban Myth. Never has been.)

Maple's topless tonight.  And she is showing off her Robin's nest.  She was so fully dressed this summer we didn't even know she had a nest. She stripped a good 20 thousand leaves off this time. Peggy and I ran around and raked up most of them. That may not seem to make sense from a man who defies the orderliness of leaf raking.  But I also like to think we're good neighbors. A little wind? Our leaves become their leaves to have and to rake.

I went through periods in radio and TV where I bordered on being an environmental reporter. On a few occasions I did some stories on passive energy saving home construction.

One thought never fully developed by the construction industry is to put all your windows on the south side of the house. Then you get warmth from the Sun in the winter, and block the rays in the summer.

It's always made me wish we'd built our own home with energy saving in mind.  My energy!  What you want to do is situate your house based on the prevailing wind. Find spots up wind to plant all your LEAF bearing trees. Aim your lot downhill and your front yard in the wind direction of the neighbors you don't like.

Invariably, fall comes around, and all the leaves land on their yard. Let them try and prove they came from your place. Since you didn't even lay a hand or rake on a single leaf they'll never get ya.  I've not yet heard of DNA testing on leaves. (I'm sure it's coming.)

Our problem here is we like all our neighbors. I just wish they liked leaves as much as I do.

Someone has already asked me how I was going to be able to write so many stories about leaves? Believe me that's nothing.

One year under a newly arrived news director we failed to cover the auto show when it came to town.  Well auto ad buyers have long memories. Next year the station did not get it's piece of the auto industry ad revenue pie. So to get back into Detroit's good graces, the station decides to do massive penance. It's one of the few times I honestly went into a closet and screamed, "WHY ME?"

I was hand selected to go to the auto show every day of it's run and do live shots and stories at least three times a day. Let's see. I did one on the show models being brighter than one would think. I did one on no one under 60 showing up at the Buick exhibit. I did one on no women getting near the Hummer display. I did one on trying to find the best "pick up," not pickup, vehicle of the year. I did one on Caddillac, in a market panic, getting into the SUV business. I did one on "what's cheap?"   I could go to my file and get them all for you. But you got the idea. 

The point is, as I often tell my students, if you can tell a story there will always be a story to tell. Leaves are pretty easy by comparison. And you don't feel like you need to go home and take a shower when you are done telling leaf stories.

Let's see, we could do something on homonyms, homophones and homographs of leaf. There is, "what a sexy LEAF?" There is " I must LEAF through the LEAF book." There is Hamlet instructing an acting troupe, "... I had as LIEF the town crier spoke my lines." There is that Viking marauder LIEF Erickson who may have said, " let's go south for the winter.We can watch a LEAF fall." " You mean Maine?" "Yeah." "When would you like to LEAF? I'm going to stop. I may need some of these before Maple finishes her act.  Oh, "you coming for Thanksgiving? Let me know. I'll have to put another LEAF in the table. Maple says, Hi!.