Well, it's the time of year for America's pumpkins to shine…literally. You’ll see them on porches and in windows all over the country tonight. Of course, a pumpkin can't shine without a little surgery first; actually, a lot of surgery. You’ve got to scoop out all his innards so you can carve a face on the old boy, and then place a candle inside him. And when you do, an otherwise boring old pumpkin suddenly glows with this light inside.
"Fame!" is making its third appearance in American culture. Well, that's as in Fame the new movie. Years ago, the story of ambitious, would-be stars and this New York performing arts high school was a movie and a TV series. And it's back again for this generation. The young lady who stars in the new version said recently she thinks the original theme song still speaks to people today. The chorus says, "Fame! I'm going to live forever. Baby, remember my name." She said, "Living forever is something we all really crave. You want to feel like you're contributing something during your time on earth - that you're worth it."
These days they call him the fastest man alive; Usain Bolt keeps shattering Olympic track and field records. And he's amazing to watch! Don't blink or you'll miss him. I heard one commentator say, "We just keep hoping that we won't find out some day that he was using anything illegal." So far, there is no evidence he has. But we've heard about too many athletes who have won their event, only to end up losing because...well, they didn't do it according to the rules.
Some friends let us stay at their secluded get-away place recently. We really needed it! I'd look out the window and I'd see a couple of trees, a hillside, a patch of water. But when I climbed to the top of the nearby hill, "Woah! What a view!" I could see the whole lake, rolling countryside as far as I could look, a huge span of blue sky, sometimes even some deer. Looking out this one little window, I got only a fraction of what was going on. But when I went up higher, I saw the panorama - something a whole lot bigger.
It wasn't exactly science that I taught my kids. I told them that thunder was angels bowling, and when it got to be fall, I told them that when leaves turn in the fall, angels had stayed up all night painting them. Okay, I know it's all about chlorophyll and cold nights, but that's so boring. Fact is, for a few short weeks across the United States, there's this spectacular show of changing colors. And I love it!
