I don't know about you, but I love autumn. Except, of course, for the fact that it's a prelude to, well, you know...
It's harvest time, right? There are apples and cider and the hazelnuts are ready. There's the promise of new wine. There's visits to pumpkin farms.
With the extra rain the grass is greener than at almost any other time of the year and the changing colors of the leaves make for a dazzling display, even right here in the big city.
A little chill in the air is OK and the cool nights make the bed seem even more inviting. Then there's the smell of the dropping leaves in the air.
The problem is the early darkness and that snap of freshness in the air are signs of something ominous. You know what I'm talking about.
And, worst of all, for all its glory, autumn in Milwaukee is short -- painfully short. It doesn't allow us the time to adjust our body clocks and our mentality to steel us for winter.
Snow is predicted for Monday. No one is really ready for that. We're all still hoping for a few more 70-degree days.
If we could somehow convince Mother Nature to invite her friend autumn to stay on a few weeks longer, it might be my favorite of all the seasons.
But since she's so content on getting pushed out the door by winter, spring and summer will remain atop my list.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
