“…Some days you have to unplug the phone and step out to the porch and rock all afternoon and allow the sun to tell you what to do. The whole day has to lie ahead of you like railroad tracks that drift off into gravel. Some days you have to walk down the wooden staircase through the evening fog to the river, where the peach roses are closing, sit on the grassy bank and wait for the two geese.”

~ Philip Terman, excerpt from “Some Days”

After months of brutal politics, unrest, drought and fires around (in more than one way), I had enough. Sometimes you just have to stop, breathe, and watch evening fog or rub a dog’s soft ears and find a sense of peace in this world (and maybe a sense of humor on top of all that).

So, Dear Reader, let me tell you about my Hot Date last Saturday evening. It’d been a long dry season since having a Hot Date with anyone other than the Roto-Rooter bunch and a couple of workmen who started work but then disappeared for good. Not my idea of Hot Dates, except to make me hot under the collar perhaps.

Anyway, this last Hot Date expected me to drive, scooted over on the truck seat — closing in no time flat — either to take the wheel or sit on my lap (take your pick), then rested his head on my arm, and practically drooled half of the way. I think he sort of liked me. You reckon?

Conversation was mostly one-sided, but we got along well — and he didn’t mind my howling “Take It To The Limit” as we swerved along mountain roads down to Tryon. Afterward, the Hot Date expected me to cook his dinner right away, gobbled half of mine later, then had the nerve to jump in my bed! And snore. You’d think he was a spoiled dog after all that. Hmmmm.

All said, it was a really fine evening. Sometimes you really do need a Hot Date in a slow-driving old truck along winding mountain roads filled with golden evening, windows down for bird song and river dancing. Perspective, y’know. 

Saluda Welcome Table is every Tuesday. Dinner is served from 5:30-6:45 p.m. in the fellowship hall of Saluda United Methodist Church. All are welcome; donations accepted.

There will be a Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11 at 3:30 p.m. at Memorial Park on Greenville St. across from McCreery Park.

Saluda Community Land Trust will have a Twin Lakes community workday and fun day on Nov. 13 from 1 p.m. til done! Learn more about Saluda Community Land Trust (SCLT) by visiting saludaclt.org or calling 828-749-1560.

The annual Saluda United Methodist Church’s Turkey Dinner is this Saturday, Nov. 12 at Saluda School cafeteria, 5-7 p.m.

Saluda’s Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration’s Second Annual Holiday Bazaar will be Nov. 19, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the parish hall, 72 Charles Street.

Saluda Garden Club meets Nov. 21 at 10 a.m. at Saluda Library.

Mark your calendar for the Saluda Holiday Tailgate Market on Nov. 26, 2-4 p.m. at the tailgate market lot.

The annual Polk County Toy Run is Nov. 26 starting from Saluda Fire Department, 64 Greenville St. Register from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.. The motorcycle parade begins at 2 p.m.

Community potluck and bingo will be Nov. 28 at 6 p.m. Plan to attend and bring a covered dish.

Happy Birthday to Rich and Rita Igoe, Karen Johnson, Nancy Barnett, Dawn Pearson, Charles Pearson, Dusty Jespersen, Gwen Garren, Stoney Lamar, Jim Boyle, Tom Ellwood, Wendy McEntire, Aaron Burdett, Donna Potruski and Jane Thompson. Happy belated birthday to Jonathan Fekete.

Thank you, dear readers for reading this column! It’s my goal to make you feel as if you are enjoying a visit in a sweet small town on a sunny fall afternoon. Please feel free to contact me at bbardos@gmail.com or call 749-1153. You may also visit bonniebardosart.com for more writing and art, or find me on Facebook.