Black November.

When did November become such an awful business month?

I mean, no harm done -- I factor it in, these days.

Still, it's somewhat startling to have an hour go by without anyone coming in the door.  To suddenly be below the yearly average by a good 20%.

Last year in November was extraordinarily slow.  Which is why I'll probably have another up month this year, in spite of what I'm saying here.

But overall, November has become the worst month of the year.

This is relatively new, for us.  Back when I started, kids were a major factor in my  business -- so much so, that we'd have these big cliffs we'd fall off of in September and January.  Those used to be the 'Black' months.

But in the last decade, September has turned into a pretty decent month.  January and February aren't as bad as they used to be.  But October and November, April and May are much worse.

In some ways, the extremes aren't there as much.  Not so much cliffs, as slides.

Anyway, I can think of a few factors.

1.)  Kids aren't my main customers.

2.) Tourists have become more important, as well as adults in general.

3.) Bend itself, and especially downtown Bend, has become even more tourist oriented.  So in these gaps in coverage -- the Novembers, the Aprils, I notice the dropoff much more.

What I'm saying here, is that we all of us -- well, at least those of us in downtown -- are depending on Bend being a draw.  That's why I voted for, and was glad to see it pass, the park bond.

The more amenities Bend has, the bigger the draw.  The bigger the draw, the more amenities.

Let's keep the virtuous cycle going.