October

October is when the year gets serious. Sometimes, in the morning, you feel a nip in the air when you're walking the dog. And those walks, morning and night, are starting to require the flashlight again.

When you're in school, October is when you're far enough along to know who's in your class, which teachers you like (or don't) and those projects and tests are around the corner.

Late September and early October is the traditional time when the new cars are introduced. That has been a ritual I've participated in since I was 10 years old. Something new, something changed. Visits to dealerships to claim brochures. Spotting the new models on the road for the first time. Sometimes it's something all-new, but incremental changes can be exciting, too. It feels different today, both because the automotive industry has changed and I've grown up, but there's a remnant of that October excitement that remains. This year, the long-awaited new Beetle represents this annual event for me.

October contains my half birthday. That was most important the year I got my learner's permit, but it still is a little private marker of time passing, which it is doing much too quickly now.

October (sometimes September) contains the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana) and Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). It's the starting point for Jews who follow the tradition. I don't, particularly, but I still think about it, and it gives this time of year a sense of renewal rather than fading into autumn, leaves falling, and melancholy.

Apples. Now's the time to get 'em fresh and crisp.

For sports fans, it's time for the culmination of the baseball season with the games leading up to and including the World Series. For basketball fans, the NBA season begins at the end of the month. Football is in full swing. Sports Illustrated is a fat publication in October.

And all of it is rolling inexorably into the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, with all the accumulated memories of turkey, tree decoration, family dinners, gift giving, and suddenly--a new year.

Happy Jewish New Year--Rosh Hashana Tova

Rosh Hashana is the start (literally the "head") of the Jewish year. Unlike the secular calendar, the Jewish New Year starts in the fall. The dates vary (according to the secular calendar, at least) because the Hebrew Calendar, while around 365 days long, is divided into 13 months.

In any case, the Jewish Year 5772 started last night at sundown. As usual, I didn't do anything about it.

Back when Jews were all pretty much living together in their own communities, the new year was a big deal. Also, following right behind it, was Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, when you basically said, "Ok, it's the new year, I'm sorry for the wrong things I did and the mistakes I made and I'm going to do better this year. Oh--and I won't eat today to remind myself."

As an essentially nonobservant Jew living with non-Jews, I will not fast this year. How can I? My band has a gig to play that day and I'd starve. In all seriousness, though, it doesn't feel like I have to.

Judaism is an ancient tradition, but like any practice, it takes daily--or at least regular--observance. I don't do that. But sometimes I wish I did, and it's still a good time to think about my life.