Column: Pumpkin Spice and the end of the world

I’ve always had a fascination with movies and books about a post-apocalyptic world or dystopian society.

While they would often times make me feel uncomfortable, it was almost like rubber necking at an accident – you want to turn away, but often times you don’t.

This summer I have had two instances that have made me feel like the world has been ending, and I think I’m not alone when I say that I can’t wait for the cooler temperatures of fall and winter to arrive.

In July I woke up to my bed shaking and my cat flying. I had no idea what was going on and when I went upstairs and walked outside I thought a bomb had hit. Car alarms were going off and it was a spooky feeling. Once I woke up enough to comprehend what had happened, I quickly realized it was an earthquake, but there was a few minutes I was flat out scared. I had gone through a huge earthquake in California, but was never expecting one in Montana.

A couple of weekends ago, I had another eerie feeling. I walked outside in the early evening and could not see 20 feet in front of me. The smoke was so heavy the sun was a creepy shade of red and ash was falling from the sky. I once again thought the world was ending and wanted to run inside and hide under the covers.

Between the earthquake and fires, I am so ready for some snow, something I never thought I’d say.

If Montana ever needed an early winter, this is the year. We need the moisture to put out the fires and to allow us to breath in some wonderful Montana air without coughing, sneezing, or getting a headache. My cats love to sit by the window and smell the fresh air, but even the smoke bothered them and the windows had to be shut. We left one open the other day and poor little Jerusha turned gray.

I’m sure after about three or four huge storms I will probably change my tune about the snow, but it sure does sound good right now.

I want to walk out of the house with no shoes, shorts, and a t-shirt -- and bask in the glory of the winter weather. For the first few storms I’ll gladly shovel snow two or three times a day, although a few months later I always seem to misplace that shovel.

The only thing I’m not looking forward to with the arrival of fall is America’s infatuation with pumpkin spice.

It is not possible to go anywhere after the start of September and not see something with the Pumpkin Spice flavor. It has become such a trend that it has ended up in my column and I never thought I’d see the day that would happen. I have seen gum, chips, cookies, Twinkies and during a recent online search I found you could by Pumpkin Spice fettuccine. I can’t possibly imagine who would want to boil that pasta and smother it in a nice marinara, but I guess those people do exist.

I get that when it nears Halloween there is a market for this flavor, and while it may be over saturated, sometimes it is as simple as supply and demand. I wish that this hot dry weather could be whisked away by a winter storm, and it would take everything pumpkin spice with it.