Spooky Sign of the Season

It's almost Halloween and much to my delight, decorations are up! Each year I've written about the cool and unique Halloween decorations I see in the neighborhoods, but what about ones in town?

The other day while waiting at the Georgia Avenue/Route 108 traffic light, I couldn't help but think of Richy Slyon's most recent post, Down on the Corner. When I see panhandlers, I ask myself -- do I help or not?  If I do, how? I agree with Richy that "it can be awkward to pull up and make or maintain eye contact."

Then I spotted someone who does want eye contact and help ... but I really don't know how to help!

I had to stare at this sign in front of Adeptus for a several seconds before comprehending it and chuckling.

What a subtle but spooky sign of the season! Keep an eye on Adeptus' sign whenever you are stuck at the Georgia Avenue/Route 108 intersection -- you never know what they'll post next.

Single Orange Female

or Single Orange Male. It's hard to tell the sex of a plant. Also titled, "Another day in my strange garden." Every once in awhile, a strange plant erupts among my gardens. There is something about watching a struggling, often unattractive, living thing try to make its way out of the soil and into the air that amazes me. So much so that I have a hard time pulling it out or chopping it down. Who am I to snuff out a life that obviously so wants to live? I call these, "Jolly Green Giant" plants because they are often humongous. So when the SOF erupted out of nowhere, I just watched it grow, and grow and grow. This one wasn't as much tall as it was wide. Boy did it spread. It was becoming a problem as it was encroaching on my driveway and I kept running it over with the car. One day I came home and my husband had tied this mammoth plant back so that I wouldn't drive on it (my husband has resigned himself to the fact that I don't like to dislodge these strange spirited beings).

One day I was admiring this plant with a friend. "It seems to want to be something," I said. "It keeps blooming these beautiful yellow flowers but nothing seems to come of them." Then my friend said something that rocked my world. "It looks like a pumpkin plant." What???!!! How could a pumpkin plant suddenly grow outside my front door?? Then I remembered the pumpkins. Last Halloween, I dutifully put out my 2 pumpkins, one for each child. There they sat, day after day, week after week, until one day, they were nothing more than rotting corpses. Oh, so they left their seeds that germinated. Cool! But why don't I have little baby pumpkins? "The plant needs another plant to fertilize it," my friend said. Boy, was I getting an education in plant sex ed. It needs a mate?? Who knew? So, consider this a dating advertisement - Wanted: Single pumpkin plant willing to commit!

Tube Dude

I love living in a small town where folks gather to celebrate local activities and businesses. Last week's Olney Community Night offered plenty of fun demonstrations as well as vendors for kids and adults -- thank you for the free samples, Olney Winery! Remember all the food and activities at last year’s Olney Community Night? 

Before Olney Community Night, the most recent town event I had enjoyed was National Night Out in August. What immediately drew my attention was not the crowd or fire truck or spraying hoses ...  but the glorious pink Air Dancer! Olney may be small, but not too small for a gigantic, undulating tube dude.

I've see these towering inflatables in Rockville or larger towns, but now we have them! Okay, so these tube dudes are only on the ATM screen at Bank of America's Olney branch.

But a real Air Dancer in the Fairhill Shopping Center parking lot meant that Olney made the big time, at least for one night.

That image inspired my second Modern Family moment in Olney.  Unlike any of my ten past Seinfeld-Olney moments, it reminded me of Phil and Gloria moving like Olney's Air Dancers. Check out this video (sign in) and scroll to 13 seconds in.

Down on the corner.

With my job, I have to do some traveling throughout the county. Rockville, Silver Spring, Bethesda, and even Olney. I have seen people on the corners, in the median. Mostly men and occasionally women. They may have a sign that reads Homeless not Hopeless. Or Homeless Vet God Bless. Some      may not have a sign. I came across a man on crutches with two prosthetic legs. All year round he wears shorts. The better to see his legs or lack of. On the same corner, on another day, I saw another man. He always has one of his pant legs pinned up to his waist. He's also on crutches and hobbles on his one leg. In Olney, I see folks on the corner of 108 and Georgia. Right across from the bus stop that backs to Popeye's. On the other corner, across from Five Guys is another spot. What to do? Sometimes, I may give a buck or two. You may not see the person for a few days but then they return.  I often wonder how they decide on a corner. How much could they collect? You hope it's going to.  .... what? Feed themselves and family? I know someone who handed out McDonalds bucks. They came in packs of five and could only be used to purchase their food. Either way, it can be awkward to pull up and make or maintain eye contact. Or I may pull in the lane further away. How we avoid the stare down. With autumn and cooler weather coming, there may be fewer sightings. But they're still out there. Not only in Olney.