A hint of fall

I painted Leroy on an orange background since I've been feeling a hint of fall in the air ... and this being South Florida, there will be no romping through piles of yellow, red, orange and purple leaves or watching the wind magically swirl them around in little circles or even the therapy of raking .... I actually like raking. There's something about it that makes me feel like I'm in control of something, even though most everything in all of our lives has been spinning wildly out of control for years. The whole concept of raking reminds me of a picture I saw on a local blog yesterday of an old lady sleeping on the cold, hard, unforgiving ground just outside a huge window that looks into a gorgeous and very comfortable-looking room. It made me cry ... for many reasons. The comments were even sadder, including one that said "Looks like someone forgot to feed the stray cat." Another said that this woman had been sweeping the streets of South Beach for as long as he could remember, that she doesn't ask for money and that there must be a reason why she keeps sweeping. I'm sure there are many, many reasons. ... Leroy, the guy on my little tile, doesn't rake. He sings opera ... really loudly, in his car every day on the way to work. He's actually quite talented, but no one knows, and no one ever will. Leroy got a little paint on him ... when the tile got a little stuck to another tile .... but life is like that sometimes. I left Leroy at a cafe that shall remain nameless ... in a spot where he is likely to attract a very captive audience. ... One of my tiles got some attention recently, and it makes me a little afraid of being found out on a bigger level. I decided early on that if people I know hear about this and start suspecting that it's me ... I'm just gonna stop ... but I'd really like if I were able to run out of tiles naturally long before that happens.