The Times They are a-Changin'

Well, I'm no longer running at 6 in the morning. It's too dark. And having been laid out flat no fewer than four times in broad daylight, I'm wary of navigating tree roots in the dark.

Another sign that change is in the air are night temperatures, which have dropped into the 50s. We've embarked on a search for our rented blankets, which we could not bear to look at during the heat and humidity of a few weeks back.

With school back in session, the traffic has quadrupled in volume. We think twice about taking the car out these days. For example, here's the kind of thing that can happen if you do: While Pandey was here, he wanted to buy some American sneakers, so I took him to downtown White Plains. Once we hit the center of town, I became locked in a traffic jam of epic proportions. As I attempted to navigate out of the mess (with Pandey chattering happily in the seat beside me), I had intense but silent battles with the crazy unyielding drivers all around me. At one point, when I couldn't get anyone to let me over to the freeway entrance, I let loose with a loud "FUCK!" In its wake, the inside of the car went completely silent. I glanced at Pandey who was looking at me with thinly veiled horror. I think he'd never heard a woman use that word before. I apologized profusely, of course, whereupon he replied graciously, "No, no. It doesn't matter. America is very advanced in this matter."