{"product_id":"its-the-little-things-isbn-9780375758966","title":"It's the Little Things . . .","description":"In 1996, Craig Wilson began writing a column for \u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e called “The Final Word.” In it, he extolled the virtues of the true pleasures in life—clotheslines, freshly cut firewood, sweet corn, and Adirondack chairs—and looked back on his childhood in the country with fondness and an infectious sense of humor. Wilson’s message struck a nerve, and now he receives hundreds of letters and e-mails each week from readers who share his sense of nostalgia and appreciate his warm, thoughtful observations on daily life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eIt’s the Little Things...\u003c\/b\u003e showcases the best of “The Final Word,” with the pieces arranged by season. In fall, for example, Wilson remembers his mom’s Thanksgiving gravy and his crush on his first-grade teacher; in winter, he holds forth on aluminum Christmas trees and the kiddie table; in spring, he writes about the joys of walking to work and puttering in the garage; and in summer, his thoughts turn to white bucks, front porches, and outdoor showers. The result is a delightful book to share with others and to relish throughout the year.September\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOh, it’s a long, long while\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom May to December,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut the days grow short\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen you reach September.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—“September Song”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShort, yes. But, oh, so sweet.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeptember, more than even those highly touted pastel months of spring, holds so much promise.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd more than even January, September heralds a new year. A new beginning.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNew clothes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNew pencil boxes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNew friends.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThings start in September.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThings like school, with their floors all shiny and their books stacked high.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePencils are long in September. Erasers full.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEveryone is an A student. Everyone is equal.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe’re where we’re supposed to be. Back home, and back to work. And we look good being there. We’re rested. We still have that summer tan. But no longer do we have to worry about keeping to bathing suit weight. We pull on the corduroys, pull over that sweater, and cover up until spring.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe get new haircuts in September.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd haul out the stockings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd put away the white shoes. We’re sick of them anyway.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUp from the meadows rich with corn,\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eClear in the cool September morn, . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn Greenleaf Whittier\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIf you care about baseball, September brings the pennant races. If you’re a Cleveland Indians fan, it means the pain is almost over.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“By then I’ve given up, and I’ve started following the [pro football] Browns,” says Tom Wiener of Washington, D.C., an avid Indians fan, who has come to accept September’s cruel fate. “That’s the good thing about September. There’s something new to move on to.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd if you don’t care about football, you can wax your skis and not feel like a fool.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe first smell of rekindled fireplaces blankets the neighborhood. You see your breath for the first time in months.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou drink Scotch again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSymphonies warm up.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe PTA comes back to life. School buses are everywhere.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e. . . Kids in slickers wait for buses; Sorry Sues and Gloomy Guses. Orchards swell with Red Delicious, Baldwins, Macs, and Northern Spies. Pickers work through rain like fishes, wiping their eyes.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTim Clark, The Old Farmer’s Almanac\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeptember has given us so many good things: the Constitution. Brigitte Bardot. Agatha Christie. George Gershwin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe ice-cream cone was invented in September. A little late for that summer of 1903, but better late than never.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd Labor Day is always in September. You have to love a month that has a holiday named Labor when no one works.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeptember also has the honor of always ushering in autumn. This year: 7:48 a.m. EST on the twenty-third.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLengthen night and shorten day; . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEmily Brontë\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJune’s a cliché. We march down the aisle in September now.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“The weather is better, and everyone is back,” says Hedda Kleinfeld, of Kleinfeld’s bridal salon in Brooklyn, New York. She dressed over a thousand brides for this September.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“September is really the beginning of the year, and for the bride, your choices for dresses are wonderful,” she says. “You can wear what you wish. You don’t have to do summer or winter. You can have a satin dress if you want.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe world is heady with harvest. Apples in Washington State. Cranberries on Cape Cod. Mums everywhere.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“September’s that wonderful lull between the music season in August and the ski season,” says Aspen, Colorado, restaurateur Lauretta Bonfiglio. “September’s the time for the local people to enjoy. It’s the mellow time. And the most beautiful time.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMiss America gets her crown in September.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Atlantic loses its warmth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSo does the sun.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSee you in September . . .\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSeptember is the time of reunions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eYou return to college. To old haunts and old friends and old habits, good and bad.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEvery club from the Lions to the Elks congregates then. If there’s something to sign up for, we sign up for it in September.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt’s a good month to fall in love, too. The slate is often clean. The summer romance is over. He’s gone back from where he came. So has she.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e“September offers some kind of hope,” says Cheryl Lavin, whose syndicated romance and relationship advice column, “Tales from the Front,” appears in more than fifty newspapers. “But you have to be careful in September. We get letters from women who sign up for fall night courses, say, in the stock market, and walk in and find thirty other women.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOkay, so September has a few things going against it. The new TV season starts. It will bomb before October. And Congress returns to its shenanigans. Halloween candy is already lurking at the drugstore, and Christmas wrapping looms.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut babies galore are born in September, conveniently placed nine months after the season of good cheer. This September we find out if our favorite TV news queen, Murphy Brown, will have a child of her own.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe weather’s nice almost everywhere, except for the hurricanes brewing in the Caribbean. But we’re not in the Caribbean. We’re home. Remember?from USA Today's \"The Final Word\" [quote]--John Berendt","brand":"Random House Trade Paperbacks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46305124221157,"sku":"NP9780375758966","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780375758966.jpg?v=1767730279","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/its-the-little-things-isbn-9780375758966","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}