Dear Readers,

These are unsettling times.

Around the world, the Middle East is in flames, as the usual suspects are at war with each other. They say it is over religion. However, I suspect the real reasons have to do with money and power.

It seems to be all part of a religious and social conflict that has existed for more than a thousand years in a region that has seen its endless deserts bloom with thousands of oil rigs producing riches beyond belief.

Our national leaders have committed our air power to try to stop a stateless army called ISIS that is tearing up the middle eastern landscape. They tell us they won't commit our ground forces in this struggle, however, many of our military leaders say ISIS will not be stopped by air power alone.

A few thousand miles south of the fighting in Iraq and Syria, there are American boots on the ground in Liberia, a nation created in part by the American Colonization Society, as a homeland for freed slaves.

A contingent of U.S. Marines has been ordered into the center of the Ebola outbreak to help healthcare workers battle the deadly disease, which has claimed the lives of more than 4,000. We wish them all well.

On the home front, just in case you have not noticed, the election “silly season” is in full swing with political ads by the dozens playing every eight minutes or so on every TV station. It is so bad that out of state special interests are having trouble spending their huge ad budgets. The TV sales folks have already sold most of the available commercial space.

Maybe some of the political types will finally discover that local newspapers can provide a good venue for their message.

It is almost World Series time, but there the news is unsettling too. The playoffs are underway, but the mighty Red Sox, world champs last year, have cleaned out their lockers and gone home. Better luck next season.

One bright sports note is the New England Patriots who seem to have rebounded from an early stumble. Quarterback Tom Brady is once again on track for football sainthood.

When you think about it, the world can seem a bit unsettling and a bit overwhelming, until you peek outside your back door.

Suddenly, all is well. The air is crisp, the leaves are brilliant, the sun is shining. Pull on a sweater, go outside. Once again, Mother Nature has presented us with her most colorful daughter: Miss Autumn.

This is a great time to take a walk, whether it is a stroll around town, a lap around Ocean Point, or on a woods trail. Once you are there, stop for a moment and sniff the air.

Those of us who have had the pleasure(?) of living in large metro areas know what I am talking about. All you have to do is shut your eyes and let the outside in.

Do you notice what is different? Can you still remember clouds of auto exhaust fumes, acrid smells from mighty industrial plants, or the eternal buzz of traffic?

Yes, I know there is a bit of an odor from the remains of the occasional skunk that failed to make it to the other side of the road, but the rest of the sights and smells of fall, from Boothbay to Alna, are pretty darn easy on the senses.

Up and down our highways and sea coast, we see massive cruise ships and lumbering tour buses filled with folks from away who have paid thousands of dollars for the chance to peek at our landscape and sniff our cool clean breezes.

And you can do the same without reaching for your credit card. Just poke your nose out the back door.

One of my favorite women, a longtime East Boothbay resident, says we live in “God's Pocket.” I am not sure she is wrong.

But you better enjoy it while you can. We all know December will be here soon.