Sic Semper Tyrannis

On Fall

This time of year gets me every time.

It’s mostly the weather change. To feel the oppressive locust-whine desert heat giving way to cooler breezes, earlier evenings, the “crispness” of it all…there’s something kind of sublime at play. Every year around this time, I start to think that maybe Fall is my favorite part of the year. (But I actually think that about every season when they’re just beginning. I’m a guy who likes new starts…)

But I think that mixed up with the temperature drop and equinox and all of the environment’s new starts, there’s a remembrance of things past, to use Proust’s phrase. In my previous life as a younger person—as a student—this was certainly the time of new starts. You see, this kind of weather was always accompanied by lots of hopes with the new grade—“maybe this school year will be the best yet,” “who knows who I’ll meet in these new classes, maybe my future wife…”

There was always the sense of anticipation floating around after we made it through the hottest months. I remember dusky evenings sweating it out in a marching band uniform, constantly being at the school after hours for music rehearsals, getting a feel for how new teachers doled out work. Everything had the promise of newness to it.

And if I’m really paying attention, really stretching out my synapses, I can still feel that vague hope blowing in on the breeze.

P.S. Radiohead’s “The Tourist” played on my Yahoo! Launchcast while writing this: a great soundtrack for reliving Falls past.

posted by Mike @ 4:49 PM