So many changes in October

October is an exhausting month.

First, another time change. When will they stop? Okay, so it happens on Nov. 6 this year, it’s historically been this month so it’s fair to say we are in a state of anticipation. Time changes throw everyone off for a week or so, and no longer have practical value. It’s a state issue, so if you agree, please consider a letter or email to our state legislator (gently worded and respectful, of course) and make your request on the issue. No more time changes!

No more garden tomatoes, sandals, 5 a.m. walks and 10 p.m. sojourns to the patio before bed.

The Ritzville Women’s Golf Group gatherings on Monday mornings have fizzled. Few want to golf when it’s less than 50 degrees on the course, which is standard for October mornings. Besides, half of the women who participate desert us for the desert.

We shall miss all those who deny themselves the Ritzville winter experiences. Remaining in Ritzville and hunkering down to endure the winters makes us survivors. We are tough and next April we will welcome the heat-seekers with increased confidence because we endured while they basked.

I don’t understand why anyone wouldn’t want to experience four complete seasons. They are each brilliant (of course they are; consider Who created them!) Can’t fathom the holiday season unless outside air is cold enough that we speak in visible puffs.

One cannot consider October’s events without mentioning The Hunt. Mark left for his annual macho hunting rendezvous with several buddies, and arrived the day prior to the season’s open at the camp where they gather every October to be revitalized, swill beer and smoke cigars round the campfire, and generally engage in male bonding. Between bites of beans and franks, they remember fondly the heart-pounding thrills of past hunts, and dream of sighting in on a 10-pointer this year.

Hunting season didn’t open until the next morning, so he and his friend Doc decided to ride Doc’s ATV to the top of a steep and long hill to scope out the area. They go there every year, but I guess they needed to be aware of any changes due to evolution, volcanic eruptions and other Acts of God, which may have affected the terrain over the previous year.

Being of an age physically but forgetting it, they threw caution to the winds and flew up that hill, ATV roaring (or sputtering for its life was probably more like it, considering the bulk the poor thing was hauling) when at the moment when the slippery, smooth surface of a hidden large rock impeded their climb, Doc applied additional power, which caused the ATV to rear up and throw Mark to the ground where his spine collided with a large rock. The ATV was on its side by then, having bounced over Doc who walked away with a few bruises and scratches.

Mark painfully hobbled away. Doc took him to the nearest hospital and an MRI indicated a fractured vertebrae. He was prescribed pain meds and released to go home, which he didn’t do until Monday. He will be uncomfortable for the next several weeks but will heal.

Dr. Sackmann, whose thoroughness is comforting, has taken him in hand and will see that he receives the appropriate attention by the appropriate specialists, if needed. I give those good doctors in our clinic kudos for their professionalism and the excellent care we receive from them.

Mark will not return to the hunt again this year. Dr. Sackmann surely won’t allow it. Mark will also avoid ATVs from this time forward. I love him and to assuage my newly realized fears, he promised.

Thus this October was a little more exciting than in years past. Fatiguing and sad as well. But November is close and the holidays loom. And spring is just around the corner. All is well.