A couple months ago, I had one of those new-fangled smart thermostats installed. It was a hassle-free process that will theoretically save me some money, and the installation guy got everything set up just how I wanted it.
“Sir, what temperature do you want the heat set on?” he asked toward the end.
“Not too warm, like sixty-eight degrees.”
“And what about the air conditioning?”
“Uh, well, also sixty-eight degrees.”
He grimaced, asked if I was sure, then grimaced again. My house has been at a steady sixty-eight since, bills be damned.
Which is a somewhat long-winded way of saying that I sure am happy to see the arrival of autumn. Oh, sure, summer is great. And spring and winter are not without their charms. But if we’re being honest, I’m a fall person. I like the temperature to top out around seventy and dip into the fifties at night. I want to be wearing a fleece, watching football, drinking crisp lagers and listening to Neil Young’s autumn albums (After the Gold Rush and Harvest Moon). I think it’s genetic: My mom stocks enough of her preferred pumpkin spice creamer to last the year.
I’m a little extra excited about this fall, given everything going on in KC. Last year, the activities that weren’t canceled were iffy. This year, with pretty much anyone who wants and needs a vaccine having got one, things are full go. We’ve got picks for Oktoberfests, pumpkin patches, a newly renovated Kansas City Museum, the return of the Plaza Art Fair and a couple months with all three of the city’s teams playing at once.
As a Cleveland Browns fan, I’ll just go ahead and put myself on the record as predicting the Chiefs don’t have a strong start to their season, but Sporting absolutely looks like a championship caliber club. For this month’s feature, we’ve sorted through everything going on and high-lighted the absolute best events between now and Thanksgiving.
Elsewhere in this issue, we’ve got a fall fashion photo essay with looks we love, analysis of what new laws that open up sports gambling will mean for local teams and a somber feature in which notable local people share their memories of where they were on September 11. Oh, and we found the best apple cider and doughnuts in town.
This is a big issue that’s packed with things we’re excited about. Here’s hoping it’s helpful as you plan what to do these next three months.
