When Autumn Comes, It Doesn't Ask

Sunday, September 13, 2009

It’s fall in the city. Sort of. Sure, it feels like it now, but what about when Mother Nature gets fussy & it’s suddenly 85 degrees in mid-October? Yeah, Mother Nature, I’ve got your number. I know what’s up.

Anyway. Fall in the “south” (sort of, as DC isn’t south of much) is nothing like fall in the Midwest (sort of, as Ohio is similarly not west of very much). In Ohio, everything turns from green to autumn, almost literally overnight. One day it’s regular old foliage, & the next day it’s fall. Brilliant, gold-toned fall, the kind that heightens all of your senses & makes you feel alive.

Here, there aren’t so many colors. And there’s a lot more rain. Nature just kind of clams up, like someone murdered summer & winter’s too slow to come take its place yet, so everything’s on hiatus in between. Nothing is ever really red or orange or yellow. It’s still green or it’s already brown.

A lot of people hate autumn because it means winter’s on its way. Me? Well, I’ll save my description of the differences between winters for another day, probably a winter day. But I love fall, even here. It’s too short to spend the whole beautiful season dreading the impending cold & wind. Even without the colors, I’ll take fall over summer any day.

Things I look forward to in the fall:
  • Having an excuse not to go outside. I hate summer, so I think the heat is a good enough reason to stay in, but no one else does. The fall rainy season, however, is widely accepted as a legitimate reason to be an indoor kid.
  • Oktoberfest on the Cuyahoga Falls Riverfront, though I haven’t been in years. This also means kettle corn, corndogs & mullet-spotting.
  • Pumpkin carving. Again, it’s been a few years (ludicrous to carve a pumpkin with no porch to put it on), but this is one of my absolute favorite fall activities, & I’ve been known to force friends & family into participation.
  • The return of primetime TV. Dear "Grey's Anatomy"/"Desperate Housewives"/"Fringe" - I've missed you so.
  • Halloween. Everyone here hates it, so it hasn’t been properly celebrated for at least three years, but I get a rush out of pretending to be something else for a night. And having an excuse to drink & stuff my face. (See photo for last year's costume: "fishing for compliments.")
  • Similarly, Thanksgiving, which means a trip to my grandma’s to spend QT with the fam, which also involves our annual Chanukkah/Christmas gift exchange. Ah, the joys of an interreligious clan.
  • A time to be emo. Fall just feels a little more introspective than the other seasons, giving me the go-ahead to be slightly emotionally wimpy for at least two months.
  • Scarves. And sweaters, though I promise to take it easy on turtlenecks this year. Oh, & boots, too. Also, a bonus: no shorts.
  • Starbucks' caramel apple cider. On a related note, Starbucks' salted hot chocolate, though this often gets pushed off until it’s truly cold.
  • The dwindling of tourist season. Everyone's too busy with school & work to make it into the city to clog up our escalators with stupidity.
What do you love about fall? And how can I end this post wittily?

I cannot.

7 comments:

  1. as cliche as it is, pumpkin spice lattes! love those things.

    and the return of the office.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I just appreciate that girls put clothes back on, and guys pull out their Matrixesque leather jackets. The smell of leather always reminds me of fall

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey there! Are you going to the Oktoberfest this year? If so, I serve beer there on Saturday night...I did it last year too- it's a good time had by all! Let me know whenever you come into town...it would be good to see you and...well, you need to meet Connor!

    ReplyDelete
  4. This year, when the trees in the suburbs turns colors, I will bring out and show you :). Seriously, the woods around my parents' house in MD go bright orange. DC has fall colors I swear :)

    Also, freshly sharpened pencils, brand new notebooks and galoshes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. why does your friend in the picture have cups for feet? She must be a hit when doing keg stands.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I miss your blog! But unlike missing you, there is an easy solution. Read it! Oh and a note on fall out west: wait fall? We don't have that. -mht

    ReplyDelete

Leave me some love.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...