Carry On

Snapshot of a Saturday morning on Grace Street.

A sign on the door of Qdoba says, "Please remove your mask before entering thanks!" a nod to the impending holiday, if not to punctuation.

In the window of  Rumors Boutique are costumes, everything from a McDonald's employee to a German beer wench.

Sandbags wrapped in plastic encircle the entrances to the Grace Street Theater and the VCU Police station, a precaution for the impending storm.

I get a call from a storm nester asking for my beef stew recipe which she intends to make today, pre-storm.

A bike locked to a tree has its wire basket completely filled with fallen red and yellow leaves, a nod to the current season.

And yet I am wearing shorts on my walk, as I've been doing since last April.

"You still exercising every day?" one of the homeless men I see often asks of me as I cross Ryland and he heads to a church for a shower.

When I nod to him, he praises me. "Good for you!"

Near Lombardy, a woman shouts across teh street asking a neighbor if he's going to vote.

"A;ready did!" the student-looking guys yells. "Sent my absentee ballot in."

When I catch up to her on the corner, she doesn't waste time. "Good morning. Are you a registered voter?"

When I tell her I haven't missed voting in an election since I was 18, she beams.

Halloween, Sandy, the election and autumn. Worlds collide and Richmond carries on.

Good for me, indeed.