Everything is a scam. That is what I tell my friends, family, and co-workers about basically anything that comes in from an unfamiliar number or email address. “Never answer the phone,” I say to them.

No one says “doggie bag” anymore. And who thought we’d have an opportunity to use the word “catafalque” in 2022? Also on my imaginary list of trendy words of the year, I nominate the phrase “out of pocket.” Everyone is saying “out of pocket” right now, but everyone is using it to mean something different.

Autumn has its music too, Keats said, though it’s not all that melancholic at the moment to my mind because, with 11 high school teams to cover, I must be nimble.