There's fresh pumpkin bread downstairs

I know there's supposed to be a shortage of decorative pumpkin, especially in the Northeast, because of the long spring rainy season, some weird fungus, and then Irene fucking them over. However, I read things saying that there should be no shortage of canned pumpkin (something to do with the Libby pumpkin fields -- plantations? -- being in Illinois and not affected by bad weather, etc).

But let me tell you, it is damn near impossible to find that stuff, even in really big stores like Meijer. I found 8 of the 16-oz cans at Meijer yesterday and was sorely tempted to buy them all. But I only bought 3.

We keep some on hand year-round for the dog, but beyond that, I MUST HAVE PUMPKIN FOODS. We hit autumn and it's no joke, man. Gotta have the punkin.

I'm really tempted to send a message saying, "I never even knew you on the board, I always thought your were-monkey bite was bullshit, and you're a miserable human being. Fuck off."

Or, "How's that resurrection working out for you? Or is it more of a zombie thing?"

It's sadly a box mix, Steph. I haven't been able to get pumpkin the last two times I looked, and I'm panicking. I need my pies! And my pumpkin cookies!

OK. Thanks for clearing it up, Tom.

Same thing. I was thinking he was lurking, saw Suela's story, and wanted attention?

Or... Gus IS Jess! See how similar the names are?!

I got a friend request too. Which... just a data point, really. I wasn't that affected first time around.

Or, "How's that resurrection working out for you? Or is it more of a zombie thing?"

I posted something like this on his wall when I friended him.

Oh Raq-- I really want to know what the reaction is.

Signed, Morbidly Interested.

I saw that, Raq. I sort of wish he'd replied to that. I must not rate high on the sock puppet radar, thank goodness.

I have no problem getting canned pumpkin at our Aldi. Just saying. people should visit and I'll make pumpkin muffins and/or pumpkin pancakes.

I did not get a friend request, either. Wah wah. I did see he has 3 friends total, all buffistas. Creepy!

This following is probably taking Gus more seriously than he deserved. But I started thinking about trickster mythology. If his deceptions had not been so hurtful (making people going through tough times think they were getting a free car, pretending a real person had died) some of his shit might have been funny. He tricked me into thinking he was building a real life star trek replicator and when I figured out he was lying (when he made a bullshit excuse for why it was not published) my reaction was to laugh like hell while saying "taken!".

And what I thought about was the multiple aspects of trickster. There were trickster figures like Herschel Opostrolier who were civilized jokester.Many of their "tricks" were simply wit, and all their humor from wit to practical jokes was aimed at deserving targets. Then there were figures like Til Eulenspiegel whose "humor" included boiling dogs alive, and shitting in public baths. Beyond asshole to pyschopath. And it is not that Gus deserves comparison to Trickster, as that the trickster trope is a way to understand a certain kind of asshole. It also applies to the high school kid of writes "Fuck" on a bathroom stall, starts a trashcan fire, and pulls the fire alarm. A kind of destructive impulse that most of us learn to control shortly after we are toilet trained. Don't know if it provides more insight than simply using the word 'asshole'. But I think maybe it does.