Fall is Coming

Fall is Coming It’s in the air; even if it’s 90+ degrees, the breeze is cool, the days shorter. Some trees have already started changing leaf color, actually, some in August. Sumac changes even earlier. Halloween decorations are creeping onto store shelves, monsters lurk in every corner. I had my first pumpkin spice latte last week, and I’m seeing pumpkin bars, cookies, and gingerbread at the market.

It is an elegiac time; after all, things are dying. Yet, some things bloom, and reach their brightest hues. Acorns may fall, but they create oak trees in spring. Pumpkins are just now blooming and coming into their own. I actually have one little one already on the vine. Today, we buried a childhood friend. He and his brother were really my first friends, and our parents were friends and knew each other before we were born. I walked to the cemetery, so close to home was it, and I saw many other families I knew buried there. He lived a good life, but he was still so young, and had seen his own share of tragedies. It made me pensive, as all things fall seem to do. Soon, it will be time to run the furnace to check it out, to rake leaves, to have a sweater handy. Halloween, my favorite holiday will come. My Dad took us all out trick or treating, and my mom made costumes and cut out decorations for the picture window. We took country trips to look for pumpkins, gourds, and taffy apples. Our neighbors made popcorn balls for us, and cookies, and we had our own scary Halloween parties. The best of times.