ROSE (roz) n. One of the most beautiful of all flowers, a symbol of fragrance and loveliness. Often given as a sign of appreciation.

RASPBERRY (raz'ber'e) n. A sharp, scornful comment, criticism or rebuke; a derisive, splatting noise, often called the Bronx cheer.

We hereby deliver:

• ROSES to autumn. It sneaked up on us at

3:23 p.m. Thursday with the arrival of the autumnal equinox, when the hours of daylight and darkness are equal, the signal that early twilights, chill evenings and shortening days are coming, and we've turned the corner toward winter.

As we continue to enjoy summery weather against autumn-blue skies, we're doubly grateful to be living here as we monitor the progress of Hurricane Rita. Even from satellite photographs, the hurricane is horrifying; an enormous swirl of storm clouds and wind that filled the Gulf of Mexico, lumbering slowly toward the Texas coast like a creature in a monster movie.

Here, the only impending arrival we are tracking is the new fall term at Oregon State University. Classes officially begin Monday, and will include at least 16 students displaced from universities whose academic years were derailed by Hurricane Katrina.

As we wait with concern for what Hurricane Rita will bring, we welcome these displaced students along with the rest of the new or returning OSU students, faculty and staff. It's good to have you back!

• RASPBERRIES to a city where beavers aren't safe. At least, statues of beavers aren't safe. We're talking about Beavercreek, Ohio. City officials have been dismayed at the theft or vandalism of nine 250-pound beaver statues that have been installed since July in the city of 40,000 east of Dayton.

Common Pleas Judge Stephen Wolaver was so fed up that after Michael Ledford, 18, pleaded no contest recently to stealing a statue, Wolaver ordered him to guard all 25 remaining beaver statues until Oct. 15, when they'll be auctioned off at a fund-raiser.

Judge Wolaver also sentenced Ledford to five years' probation and ordered him to reimburse part of the city's cost to install tracking devices on the statutes.

Ledford will be allowed to sit while he is guarding the statues on weekends, but he will be monitored by police in case he gets the urge to snatch another statue.

• ROSES to Scott Burke, the pilot of JetBlue Flight 292 who managed to turn an emergency into a display of excellent grace under pressure Wednesday evening after a fiery but smooth three-point landing at Los Angeles International Airport.

The jetliner was 15 minutes into its flight to New York when Burke discovered that the front landing gear was jammed with the front wheels in the sideways position.

For the next three hours, Burke held it together and did it all by the book. The plane dumped fuel to lessen chances of an explosion and flew around until the tanks were almost empty before approaching LAX, which has the longest runway available. Emergency crews were ready and waiting. In an odd twist of technology, the 145 passengers aboard were able to watch part of their own unfolding drama on television sets tuned to the live news feeds that covered the landing nationwide.

As millions watched, the drama ended when the rear wheels touched down, the nose stayed up and then slowly, smoothly, the damaged wheel finally touched down also. To the surprise of experts, the front landing gear didn't snap off. One of the double-wheeled tires spewed blue smoke from the friction of the landing, then it flared and burned up as the jet came to a safe stop.

It isn't the first time JetBlue pilots have been spotlighted for having to deal with emergencies linked to malfunctioning craft. In April, a JetBlue pilot landed safely at Long Beach Municipal Airport after the pilot saw smoke coming from the cockpit. Four years ago, a similar problem with the landing gear also was resolved without injury.

An investigation will result, but whatever is wrong with maintenance at JetBlue, it's obvious that nothing is wrong with the pilots.

• RASPBERRIES to the 25 percent of men who aren't washing their hands after using the restroom. At least, that is what the American Society of Microbiology announced as the finding of their latest annual study into how many people actual do the one, simple thing that could keep all of us healthier - wash our hands with soap for 20 seconds after using the toilet.

It turns out that a quarter of the men observed in a public restroom at an Atlanta Braves baseball game skipped the hand-washing compared with

10 percent of women. To the nasty-pawed 35 percent of the populace, we say: "Ga-ROSS!"

The microbiology society's hand-washing and germ-passing habits studies date back to 1996. They measure ways that germs are transmitted and prevented from transmission. Not only does washing the hands after using the toilet prevent infection from the E.coli bacteria that live in the intestine, but it also stops spread of the bacteria associated with colds, flu and other diseases. Also, using the paper towel to open the bathroom doorknob is a good defense against the non- hand-washers.

Oh, and about those common foods such as bowls of nuts or mints available at restaurants? No.

• ROSES to that perennial exercise in purpose-driven silliness that masks true education behind a pirate's brogue, "Talk Like a Pirate Day."

The brainchild of former Gazette-Times copy editor John Baur and comrade-in-pirate-speak Mark Summers, the Sept. 19 event has become a worldwide phenomenon. It's sort of a pre-Halloween, a pirates-only romp for anyone nostalgic for the days when pirates ruled the high seas.

A warning for next year: Pirates say "Aaarrr," preferably with one eye squinted; Snoopy says "Aaargh" when his dog dish is empty. (Just thought we'd tell ye a-fore Baur does.)