As I was driving home from work today, the air was full of the smells of burning leaves and rotting pumpkins, an odd combination. The burning leaves as a result of the ban being lifted the day before (for the previous 38 days or so, the climate was rain-free, and extremely dry), and the rotting pumpkins because the pumpkin holidays (Hallowe'en and Thanksgiving) have both passed now. The weather is unseasonably warm in North Carolina right now, and that smell hung thick in the air.

Turning left out of my office's parking lot, two bikers sped by, riding double-wide on the road, screaming words to each other to be heard over the rushing wind. The only thing I could think was what could possibly be so important that you would have to yell it at another human being just to be heard. I rolled my window up, turned on the air conditioning, and was grateful for the silence.