Wednesday, September 2, 2009

My Kind of OktoberFest


I can feel the excitement in the air as the days begin to shorten, the leaves start to turn different colors, and October, my most endearing month of the year, is rapidly approaching. I think Nathaniel Hawthorne said it best..."I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." Easy for him to do with no plasma screens, computers, or FB page to to worry with. But, I believe, I do know just what he was thinking...aah, the anticipation of those indescribable October skies bring to my mind a few events I forever associate with my beloved month of October. Yes, I'm gearing up for my kind of Oktoberfest when a bountiful harvest of colorful events are brought to my table, and I am grateful for each one.

First of all, and surely the most important (to me that is), is October 12th, the day Columbus discovered America. Just kidding, that's my birth date too. I remember, as a child, having to share CC's famous date and my elementary school teachers were always asking, each year, if anyone knew what special date this was in history. The answer is not, "My birthday!" However, sometime during this exceptional month, #3 and me plan a birthday trip and this year we are headed to the Lone star state. We will spruce up our cowboy hats at Luskey's Western Stores http://luskeys.com, belly up to the bar at the White Elephant Saloon http://whiteelephantsaloon.com/, repulse all the vegans and eat a monster steak at Cattlemen's Steak House http://cattlemenssteakhouse.com , and stay at our favorite whorehouse, Miss Molly's Hotel and Tea Room http://missmollyshotel.com ...all located in the heart of the Historic Stockyards District of Fort Worth, Texas. Love this city...can't wait to see some friends who have recently moved there, too.

Another event that traditionally comes to pass in the month of October is the Arkansas State Fair and Livestock Show http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net. What a whirlwind (usually 7-10 days) of carnival activities, greasy food, great music, rodeo, exhibits, competitions, and oodles of other fun things to do! One of these years, I am going to enter the pickle canning contest, although I'm sure I could never win. Well, maybe with a better attitude, I could. It's never too late to try!

Finally, another event and definitely not the least of my loves, is Halloween, my favorite national holiday. Surely, Halloween is a national holiday, right? There's been so many movies made about this event and one more obnoxious Jason movie is coming soon to a theater near you! Oh well, this is still a fun time in our household. #3 and me usually get dressed in our specially planned Halloween garb and go freak everybody out at George's Majestic Lounge on Dickson Street http://georgesmajesticlounge.com. Will post special Halloween pictures as they come in.

If you are not able to adopt some kind of 'my kind of Oktoberfest' after reading this post, then you are probably never gonna be able to have a little or a lot of fun, and I'm sorry for having to be the one to let you know this. However, thanks for letting me share my favorite time of the year with you and please do tell me yours!