Did you ever think how dull our lives would be if our seasons never changed? They provide us with lots of enjoyment yet cost us nothing. October is one of my favorite months. If any of you cannot get out and enjoy its beauty I found a word picture that describes it very well. It’s titled, "October" and was written by Martga H. Morrison."Fluffy clouds float across the bright blue sky and sounds of honking geese wandering southward. I rake crisp scarlet and yellow leaves in neat piles and watch two squirrels scamper back and forth from the shaggy hickory tree burying nuts in the yard. How industrious they are. I think about the food I have preserved from my garden for the coming winter, and marvel at the bright orange pumpkins standing in rows waiting to be Jack-O-Lanterns and spicy pies. A cool breeze rustles the leaves and I shiver and button my sweater. Winter is coming. Should I think of going south like the geese? My hair has streaks of gray now, a sign that I have reached October. But I cannot be sad for October is a glorious time — vibrant and colorful and full of bountiful harvests. And I have treasures of my life all around me — friends, family children, and grandchildren. My life is blessed. October here is a wonderful place to be."I think that is true of most of us who have spent our entire lives in this area. The big news this week is that everyone is in the fields harvesting their crops and no one had time to do anything special! So, the news is a bit scarce this week. Thursday afternoon visitors in the Joan Hoogeveen home were Pete and Augusta Bartels from Ripon, Calif., who are here and will be visiting other relatives and friends in this vicinity. Daylight saving time ends this week so don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour Saturday night.Lou Mayer and wife, Joy, from New Jersey visited in the Mildred Paulsen home Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They returned to their home on Monday. As they had never been in the Midwest before we did some sightseeing at the Wind Mill Farm at Lake Benton and other spots of interest in this area such as the Blue Mounds, etc. We also traveled to Lake Koronis Assembly Grounds and they enjoyed the lake country up there. The hours for the Steen Post Office have been changed. They now have been cut back to 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. This doesn’t sound like very much time to serve the Steen area patrons.Isaac Crawford, Minneapolis, son of Clair and Mary Crawford, was a Sunday afternoon visitor in the home of his grandparents, Orrin and Bernice Aukes. The Bosch family gathering was at the Brandon Steak House on Friday evening in honor of Darlene Bosch’s birthday. Those helping her celebrate were Dick and Gert Hup, Hills, Betty Boeve, Cornie Bosch, all of Luverne, and Dries and Laura May Bosch, Steen. Last week I omitted that Steven Bosch, Minneapolis, son of Dries and Laura May Bosch, had spent the weekend with them. Sorry about that. Do you ever have a day when nothing goes right? My folks used to tell me I had gotten out of the wrong side of bed. Most of us have experienced bad days I am sure. Just today I heard them say that Wednesday had been designated as "Grouch Day." Now that makes me feel better as everyone knows that misery likes company! It also made me feel better to remember that everyone has bad days. I found an article titled, "Life’s Rainy Days" and decided I would much rather call our bad days rainy days and decided to share it with you. I could not find who the author was but hope it makes you feel better. There is a disposition on the part of many people to think only of the rainy days in life, and miss all the bright sunshiny days. But there are rainy days in life — days of trouble and disappointment — no one can deny that. The person who never has any trouble, never has any real joy. But it is possible for them to become so obsessed with a fear of rainy days that they’ll lose the ability to judge the weather. It is a terrible thing to live one’s life in dread of rainy days. It is easy to make a storm out of a shower and disaster out of a mere disappointment. The rainy day people develop a terrible habit of borrowing trouble. Long before tomorrow has arrived they invade it with fears that take its terrors captive and bring them back into today, and then sit trembling before them. Very few people have ever broken under the burden of what today imposes.The best preparation for tomorrow is a calm and clear mind today. Even if tomorrow does not hold the promise of being a day packed with trouble, the best way to meet it is with the memory of today’s work well done, in a peaceful state of mind."That is good advice, I know all of us have known people who are always worrying about something. It may have happened to them or they are just concerned that it might happen. Most of us have no control of our destiny but yes, we need to meet each day with work well done, and in a peaceful state of mind.
