ON THE COMMON, Duane Kew still wore his Red Sox baseball cap and shiny red Red Sox jacket in the days after Boston fell out of the pennant race. One of our friends cried over the defeat, but Mr. Kew maintained his cheery outlook: "It's a great life to have," he said, as he resumed his walk down the sidewalk.

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Later on the north end of the Common, that long bumpy thoroughfare, a toddler drove his noisy plastic bike. "I can't stop," the boy hollered as he peddled furiously at two miles an hour.

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Dottie and Bob Tucker also reported some good news: their granddaughter, Katlyn Gray, was recently home on vacation from her studies at Castleton where she's majoring in communications. Of course, she paid her grandparents a nice visit. "Now, that's good news," Dottie declared. Katlyn is the youngest of the Tucker's four grandchildren.

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Anita Palm recently spent three weeks in Anchorage visiting her daughter whose husband is stationed there with the Coast Guard. It took about 14 hours for Mrs. Palm to make all the plane connections.

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In Roxbury, a new art show of about 12 pieces has been hung at the library. Art Zorn, Montpelier artist and musician (is describing him as an "artist" and a "musician" redundant?), created what librarian Susan D'Amico describes as "abstract, colorful" artwork. Mr. Zorn hung one piece outside the library, and the rest of his work is displayed in the entranceway, and the bathroom/gallery.

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Not so good news from the recycling depot is that, starting in November, we will pay a fee to recycle--due to the economy and due to a glut of recyclables and due to a disinterested market, blah, blah, blah. The management is inventing the details as you read. We still think that recycling is the right thing to do.

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Isn't it hard to put the lawn and garden to bed when the air is freezing and we just had the first two inches of snow? All the potted plants have been brought inside, folks are weatherizing their old windows and doors, and if you haven't been to a chicken pie supper this season, you can always make your own or pick up a frozen one, a tub of deli coleslaw and pop apples into the oven to bake along with the chicken pie. At our only grocery, apples are priced from .99 to 1.99 a pound, 12 ounces of fresh cranberries cost 2.79, a frozen chicken pie is 3.69 or 1.19, depending on brand. Deli coleslaw is 3.99 a pound. No wonder so many pay nine or ten dollars for the pleasure of eating a served meal in a church hall with a hundred other people. Cleanup is included.

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Thanks for dropping by. Please feel free to send us your news; we'd sure like to hear it.

commontalk@trans- video.net.