A Trip Back in Time

We are having our traditional fabulous October weather--blue skies, warm temperatures, and a certain light that is hard to define. It no doubt has something to do with the shortening days, but there is more to it than that. The air is clear, the sunsets are spectacular and the knowledge that winter is on it's way makes these days all the sweeter for those of us who crave warm weather and the ability to be outside.

Ozzie doesn't care what the weather is like, he always likes to be outside. Being a Labrador, rain is water in his book. The only people we see out walking in the hills in the rain are the people with retrievers. After a weekend of neglect, I tried to make it up to Ozzie by taking him to a favorite fire trail in Tilden Park along with my friend the healer. It was busy with dog walkers and nature lovers, out enjoying the dog days of summer.

On our way home, I detoured past the Merry-go-Round. It is a beautiful old carrousel and has been in operation for 100 years. We used to take. our children when they were young. Now they take their children. I love the fact that nothing about this attraction has changed in 100 years. It doesn't defy gravity, whirl, gyrate or stomach-droppingly drop as newer amusement park attractions do. It just turns at the same stately pace it always has to the same old fashioned calliope music. The parents of very young children sit with them in the stationary seats or stand next to the animals as they move grandly up and down. Older children enjoy choosing which animal is their favorite and riding by themselves. Whether you are riding on the carrousel or standing outside it waving to a child each time they turn past, the slow movement is pleasantly relaxing--a reminder that in this rapidly changing world there are a few things that never change.

A few years ago a new glass enclosure was built to protect the carrousel from the elements, the wildlife and the occasional band of partying teenagers. Now that summer is officially over and the kids are back in school it is closed during the week, and I had to content myself with walking around the outside and peering through the glass at the darkened interior. Giraffes, chickens, frogs, camels, and yes, horses, were unmoving and silent. I could still hear the children's laughter and the calliope and smell the popcorn....