Welcome to the “season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,” as Keats put it.
Welcome to October.
TV needs more funny.
TV needs more heart.
“Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils.” — Tom Hanks in “You’ve Got Mail.”
Health update: My love for college football has just been upgraded to “serious.”
Doctor: “Take two brats and call me in the morning.”
The only dog breed capable of sarcasm: Siberian huskies.
And you know who’s super sardonic? French poodles.
“People forget years and remember moments.” —Ann Beattie
Note: If you’re raising a family, you’re raising the future.
Quick question: Has any hit show bottomed out as quickly as “Ted Lasso?”
“The Bear” has crashed too.
Makes you appreciate “Cheers,” doesn’t it?
“I’m on top of the world….it’s a dismal spot in Greenland somewhere.” — Norm Peterson
Oddest county fair food: Indiana’s hot beef sundae.
Runner-up: Wisconsin’s Elvis on a Stick.
Remember when there was a sitcom about a talking horse?
Remember when a TV housewife was actually a witch?
“I don’t know. I have an aunt who thinks she’s a lighthouse. Whenever it rains she insists on climbing up on the garage roof to warn the sailors.” — Darrin Stevens on “Bewitched,” trying to brush aside the news that his new wife is a witch.
My first crush: Wilma Flintstone.
To me, Dodger Stadium sunsets are like jewelry.
Meanwhile, Dave Roberts is becoming the most-beloved sports figure since Vin Scully.
In L.A., legends are jewelry too.
Overheard: “If you want a foldable device, buy a book.”
I really dig Burbank.
And Larchmont Village still speaks to me.
If I lived in Hancock Park, I’d breakfast at the Original Farmer’s Market every morning.
Definition of “drop-dead gorgeous”: the Rose Bowl’s new Field Club.
UCLA tailback Wayne Knight has Heisman-caliber hops.
Best small city in America? Pasadena.
Recently on the market there: Batman’s TV mansion, listed at $32 million.
Ka-POWWWWWWW!
“Alfred, please patch me through to the Commissioner.” — Batman.
Simple walks appeal to me more and more.
Yet, so does keeping Gotham safe.
Confession: I just had a fling with a nice bowl off chili.
“You better live every day like your last. Because one day you’re going to be right.” — Ray Charles.
Alfred, where are you?
Definition of “separation anxiety”: the way dogs follow us into the loo.
I prefer “songs from the era before songwriters took drugs to make themselves stupid and ambiguity became the sign of artistic ambition.” —Garrison Keillor
Brutal. But I know what you mean, GK.
Top five marching bands (my ranking): 1. Ohio State; 2. Jackson State; 3. Notre Dame; 4. Purdue; 5. USC.
Bottom five: 1. Rice; 2. Oregon, 3; Colgate, 4; UCLA, 5; Yale.
Still, a big shoutout to all the kids who put in the time.
Why can’t NFL teams stick with one basic uniform?
Why can’t they all play outside, instead of domes?
“People don’t live in New Orleans because it is easy. They live here because they are incapable of living anywhere else in just the same way.” — Ian McNulty
Same for Los Angeles.
Trivia time: What is a “Goldilocks temperature?”
“It was a year without seasons; it was a year without punctuation.” — poet Donald Hall, after the death of his wife, Jane Kenyon
FYI, I prefer Santa Monica at low tide (when there’s more of it).
Coolest animals in the world: bobcats.
“Hope is easy; faith is tough.” —reader Joe Paggi
Inflation hack: Don’t buy a new $18 AC filter. Just shop-vac your old one.
Only in L.A.: The new Lucas museum reportedly wants to be “inclusive,” so it’s offering simple fare such as club sandwiches and mozzarella sticks.
Price of a burger at the Skywalker Grill: $38.
Price of admission: $25.
“If you want to grow the game, grow it in the United States.” —Jon Gruden
Amen, brother.
Trivia answer: A so-called “Goldilocks temperature” is neither too hot nor too cold, often found in fall and hovering around 65 degrees.
My sisters are still two of the best people I know.
My daughters rock too.
The granddaughters? Tough to be objective. But they’re magic.
More on the way?
“I stepped out of Mississippi when I was 10 years old, with a suit cut sharp as a razor and a heart made of gold.” —B.B. King
Dogs are family.
Dogs are kindness.
Dogs are gold.
Next week: My five tips for grandparenting.
I remember years ago when my own parents would fly in to see their young grandkids. First thing, they’d pour a drink. That generation really knew how to grandparent.
—From next week’s column
What a beautiful collection of random thoughts. So many memories of things from my younger years, and then the kinds of things I only ever heard about. A nice jumble of random thoughts, Mr Erskine.