“We drove past late fall fields as flat and cold

as sheets of tin and, in the distance, trees

were tossed like coins against the sky. Stunned gold

and bronze, oaks, maples stood in twos and threes:

some copper bright, a few dull brown and, now

and then, the shock of one so steeled with frost

it glittered like a dime…”

~ Elizabeth Klise von Zerneck, excerpt from “Like Coins,

November”

Thermometers dipped to an icy 24 degrees the night River Dog and I rolled back up the mountain to Saluda from Florida: car loaded with a slightly rusty three-wheel bike friends gifted us with. Oh boy!

Somehow, we returned with more than we left with, including sand.

Going from balmy 82 degrees to gray/dark/bone-chill, I started to U-turn ole Silver around out of cowardice, but was too beat to hit the road again for seven hours. The headlights slid over a newly-planted “For Sale” sign out in front of our house as road-weary River and I pulled in (I haven’t yet told River that strangers will be tromping through his territory).

It’s time to really get serious and quit waffling, River Dog. Neither one of us are getting richer or younger, and I don’t think I’m winning the lottery if I don’t buy the ticket. If I did, I’d be fixing my beloved old white elephant friend up like a beauty queen.

Sometimes you just gotta smell the coffee — the cost of living keeps going up while the pennies in the pocket get less and less. Now if some rich angel wants to buy us out and let us stay, that’d be OK with us. We can dream a bit!

Meanwhile, River snuggles in his bed, close as he can get to the gas heater. Dogs worry much less about these things than their people do. Much smarter, I say — to worry less and snuggle in your bed.

• Saluda Tailgate Holiday Market at West Main city parking lot will be from 1-3 p.m. on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 24, with crafts, holiday offerings, seasonal produce and more.

• Saluda Welcome Table at Saluda United Methodist Church will resume in 2019.

• Saluda Community Land Trust can be reached at SCLT’s office at 828-749-1560 or saludasclt.org. Donations appreciated.

• Saluda Train Tales at Saluda Historic Depot, 32 W. Main St., will feature Alex Salley presenting “Life & Times in Saluda” at 7 p.m. Friday. Growing up in Saluda, Mr. Salley will tell “how things were done” here in the late ‘30s, World War II and the ‘40s. You’ll hear the story of when the post office safe was blown up and contents stolen (teaser: no one was ever caught). Doors open at 6:30 p.m.; saludahistoricdepot.com.

• Saluda Historic Depot Theatre Troupe is producing Saluda’s first musical, which will premiere at 7 p.m. Saturday at The Party Place & Event Center, 221 Friendship Church Road, Saluda. For information, contact Judy Ward at 828-674-5958/judyward@charter.com or Corinne Gerwe at cgerwe@rsnet.org /828-749-4803.

• The annual Polk County Toy Run is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, starting at the Saluda Fire Department, 64 Greenville St. The motorcycle parade leaves at 2 p.m., ending up at the courthouse. 

• The city of Saluda starts leaf pick up on Monday, Nov. 26 — please don’t bag them, just put curbside in a pile without large branches, etc.

• Saluda Get-Well goes to Charlene Pace — please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Charlene is what makes Saluda a special place.

• Happy November Birthday to Rich Igoe, Rita Igoe, Karen Johnson, Nancy Barnett, Dawn Pearson, Dusty Jespersen, Gwen Garren, Stoney Lamar, Jim Boyle, Tom Ellwood,  Wendy McEntire, Aaron Burdett,  Jane Thompson, Candy Oakes, Bruce Hunt, James Hrynyshyn, Sam Woodbery and Hannah Jane Kirby.

Thank you for reading this column; as ever, the goal is to make you feel like you’re enjoying small town life in a friendly mountain town called Saluda. Feel free to contact me at bbardos@gmail.com, 828-749-1153 or visit bonniebardosart.com.