Signs of Fall

Greetings Faithful Reader...

I used to think that Christmas began when Santa came down the street at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The smell of charred feathered beast wafting out of the oven...the 82 pound newspaper bloated with underpriced goods sitting on the hassock...and two NFC Central teams duking it out on the LCD completed the picture....

But today I realized that there are a few new harbingers of the fall that I hadn't noticed before...

1) The opening notes of John Jonethis' Winter Wonderland blaring out of Pastor Allen's laptop. When I hear those horns going...I know that it is now time to start competitively shopping the Roomba for gifts.

2) My first bite of Thanksgiving turkey. I didn't realize before that I never eat turkey outside of the holidays. I mean, I eat that Subway/processed/lunchmeat/spam-like turkey in my hoagies....but it just isn't the same. Real turkey=Christmas fun.

3) The first viewing of the perennial family classic "Jingle All the Way" with Gov. Schwarzenegger and Sinbad. Where else can you get the greatest action star of all time, a Turboman doll, and Phil Hartman in one cinematic tour-de-force? When I get done watching that movie...I feel the urge to fight the crowds at the mall and invite a reindeer named Ted over.

4) Last but not least...I know it's fall because of the return of perhaps the greatest foodstuff of all time....the McRib. Yep. This mysterious blob of composite tickles my tastebuds only once a year... It's the kind of sandwich that you can't get just everyday...you can't eat in the car...and you can't enjoy without massive cramping in your lower intestine. Yes, the stomach pains are intense...but the joy of fall lasts a lifetime.

Gotta go get some rest...I thnk IKEA might be running a Black Friday sale tomorrow...if not, oh well...at least I can enjoy some post-Thanksgiving Lingonberry leftovers. How do YOU know the fall is here?

BV