(Originally published 9/02/06 on journalstar.com)

It’s the first Saturday in September and it’s cool, rainy, and grey. If you’re going to the football game, I hope you have a red raincoat.

It’s not a sprinkly rain and not a storm, just steady strong drops big enough to create little rivers on streets and make gutters do that glugging sound. If you’re not going to the game and you’re wondering what to do with yourself, it’s a perfect day for:

1. making big decisions
2. pretending you can write good poetry
5. shopping for and eating huge bakery cookies
4. staring out a window for two hours letting your mind settle on whatever it needs to
5. taking a walk with a clear umbrella and watch the raindrops falling from so far above you and stopping inches from your face
6. renting a movie that was your favorite in junior high and buying a too-large, too-expensive tub of candy at the movie rental place
7. wearing “old faithful” the sweatshirt for the first time since last spring
8. driving out of the city and stopping at a random small town diner for lunch.