November Day

It's an absolutely November day in Amsterdam. Skies the color of concrete, gusting wind and driving rain, temperatures hovering just above the freezing point... What leaves have managed to hang onto the trees so far are today being unceremoniously dismembered and dumped into the gutters. Dawn and dusk blend together with a sickly gray light, as temporary as time... Indeed this is as November as it gets.

Nevertheless, children must still be brought to school. Groceries must still be bought. Meetings must still be had. Life must go on as it does in May or September. It's just that... It's just that everything seems to take on the palor of November. Do you know what I mean?

November should be an adjective -- a word to represent everything cold, gray, damp, and dark... And in that case, this day is not just November. No, it's Novembest.