Fall feels like the possibility that something new and exciting is about to happen. There's something in the air. Even the color of the light is a little different. To make sense of this...

"The old man was a great reader. He could be a princess, a king or a roaring dragon and the children would be all ears and wide eyes with their blankets pulled up to their chins, and they would listen with rapt attention. He read well because he believed every word he read, and his belief made the children believe too. They never wanted their father or mother to read, they always asked for grandfather..."

Somewhere along the line, a paradigm shift occurred in party giving from the old model of games, party hats, cake, and presents to throwing up a bouncer in the backyard (or the front -- ugh) and leaving the kids to fend for themselves while the adults sit around talking...