The Flavor of the Month

The flavor of this month was Turbulence. It is the Bahais who teach, I think, that cultural heterogeneity is no barrier to spiritual coherence—but cultural upheaval, I imagine, one source of turbulence this month, therefore calls for special vigilance. My concentration failed me here and there, therefore that labeling. Debates and torrents of ugly ads and innuendoes at the social level, the highs of victory followed by the depths of defeat in baseball (for us), and Hurricane Sandy’s visit of the East Coast on the planetary plane; her winds reached even into Michigan. But at the very bottom, where we lived, order prevailed. A slurry of medical days came and went, all with wished-for results. And we ended the month with our traditional pumpkin-carving gathering at Wolverine Lake. Of the ten we carved that night, I select the one that best captures the family feelings as we gathered—carved by October’s birthday child, Monique.