The end of September is my favorite time of year because the long hot Houston summer is finally coming to an end. Every morning offers the possibility of the first hint of chill in the air. If not today, then perhaps tomorrow.

That element of the unexpected seems to carry over into all aspects of Bayou City life in the fall. Surprises pop up everywhere if you just take time to recognize and appreciate them. Some happen in the most unlikely places.

Surprise No. 1: A visit to Ben Taub Hospital

Even though I’ve lived in Houston for nearly three decades, I’ve never stepped inside Ben Taub Hospital and never really planned to.

I’ve been told its trauma center is first rate. If you’re shot or stabbed or involved in a critical car accident, tell the ambulance driver to take you there, I’ve been advised. But otherwise stay away from the county hospital.

But recently, a good friend of mine without health insurance was referred to Ben Taub for some internal medicine tests. When I went to visit him, I nervously expected to enter a dark, dingy building with prisoners in every room and guards on every hallway.

I was surprised to enter a bright lobby with colorful welcoming banners and helpful volunteers who directed me to his room. It’s in a ward with four beds, but each one was closed off with a curtain, so there seemed to be a measure of privacy. His nurse was an angel who playfully bantered with us. My friend said his doctors were great and the food wasn’t half-bad. I was impressed.

And he’s doing much better now.

Surprise No. 2: METRO Airport Direct bus service

Every time I’m in a city with good public transportation, I get mad. I was in Houston in the early ’80s when voters turned down an ambitious subway system proposed by METRO chief Alan Kiepper, who had developed a similar transit system in Atlanta. If only Kiepper’s plan had been implement, I would be riding a METRO train to Bush Intercontinental instead of cajoling someone to take me there.

I thought about the lost opportunity when Kiepper died last month and I thought about it again on a recent night after I arrived at Terminal C on a flight from New York. I was tired and especially grumpy because I had neglected to make arrangements for someone to pick me up.

On my way to find a cab for the $60 ride, I happened by a counter touting a $15 non-stop Metro bus to downtown. The bus arrived just after I retrieved my luggage (great timing!) and whisked me to a downtown terminal, where I called someone to pick me up.

I’m worried that the service won’t last because I was the only paying passenger, sharing the bus with the attendant who had manned the counter (it was the last bus of the night). He said business is picking up, though, and he’s hoping word gets out about the service, which runs daily from 5:30 a.m. (from downtown) to 8:40 p.m. (from Intercontinental).

So do I.

It’s not a subway, but it may be the next best thing.

Surprise No. 3: The Houston Cougars

I’m the worst kind of sports fan. I only support teams when they’re winning. But aren’t the Houston Cougars and quarterback Case Keenum fun to watch? The team seems to embody the best values of hard work and team work.

Even though there’s a lot of season left, I’ll be really mad if Keenum isn’t on the short list for the Heisman Trophy. And although I bet coach Kevin Sumlin doesn’t want anyone to make note of his race, I’m excited to see an African-American head coach do well because there are only a handful in college football.

Surprise No. 4: Tom Delay’s dance moves

I’m not a big fan of Tom Delay, but you’ve got to give the guy credit for shaking his booty with such carefree abandon on national television. I don’t think he’s going to make it very far on “Dancing with the Stars,” but it will be fun while it lasts.

Surprise No. 5: Rudy T’s new line of work

I got a chance to visit with one of my idols, Rudy Tomjanovich, at the Texas Children’s Cancer Center “Celebration of Champions” luncheon last week. Anyone who lived in Houston in the mid-1990s has fond memories of Rudy T, who coached the Houston Rockets to consecutive NBA titles.

Now Tomjanovich divides his time between Houston and Los Angeles. He and his son scout prospects for the Los Angeles Lakers and he has teamed with former Rocket Robert Horry on a premium deadbolt called the “Ultimate Lock.”

But what really excites Tomjanovich is a new health product called CieAura that he discovered a couple of months ago while talking to a customer in line at a Starbucks. He asserts that the clear holographic chips alleviate pain when applied to the body.

He attached a chip to his chronically sore hip and says the pain disappeared within a day.

“It’s changed my life,” he said with the zeal of a convert.

When applied to acupuncture points, the chip increases energy, Tomjanovich said, showing me a couple of chips on his wrist, directing me to his Web site (www.rudyt.cieaura.com), and promising free samples.

Hey, I’ll try them. I love surprises.