At Your Service by Maggie Inge

On Sunday evening, I took a Halloween Journey, an extraordinary and magical adventure presented by Kids in the Katskills. Along the way, I had an up-close and personal encounter with Sojourner Truth. Born a slave on the Hardenbergh estate in Ulster County, she became many things after gaining her freedom in 1827, including an advocate for freedom and justice. I couldn’t help but ponder what she would think of the times in which we are living.

This weekend, after the flurries stopped and the sun pushed the clouds away, I raked the leaves in my yard. It was exhilarating to be out in the crisp autumn air and stretching my muscles. In point of fact, it was colder than was comfortable and the leaves had composted just enough to make the task a chore.

With the turn of the seasons comes falling leaves and, unfortunately for most local businesses, the falling off of sales. The painfully slow economy has already made this year challenging and many businesses are short of the funds to carry the business through the down time. This makes it a perfect time to be creative with ways to boost sales and/or do those time-intensive business chores.

This week I put three score years behind me. The most startling thing about reaching these landmark ages is how many clichés it evokes. “I don’t feel that old.” “We used to…” “The time just flew by.” “I remember when…”
Even more typically, it leads me to reflect upon lessons learned and shifting priorities.

His smile is of the contagious variety; the accompanying twinkle in his eyes gives you the sense, that for just this moment, the world is populated by only you two. She seems to be clairvoyant; before you ask she is handing you what you wanted from behind the counter. He’s only six, but he can tell passersby how to get from his house to the local tourist venue. It may sound like an excerpt from the latest television reality series, but it’s what I found on an impromptu Catskill Mountain tour this holiday weekend.