Fall is in the Air—or the Drink!

What is it about fall that seems to change people’s attitude about life?

Whatever, you can ‘feel’ the change. We hit the streets walking. We don long sleeves. We buy football jerseys. We winterize our flower beds; we buy more channels on our TV packages to get all the sports events. And we set our clocks back, grumbling about the absurdity of thinking time actually changes just to accommodate the human race.

How do I know all these things happen? Because I have a wonderful view out my front window of the comings and goings of the folks in my small corner of the world.

I see the increase in the foot traffic around the neighborhood. Even if I don’t see it, my doglets let me know that someone is passing within a half mile of the house, and those barking notifications come far more often these days.

I see people who last week were wearing shorts but now are dressed in long pants. That means they either know the temps have dropped or have looked at the calendar and think just because it is late October the weather should have changed.

I notice that my neighbors are working in their yards, so they must be readying their gardens for a weather change. I try not to look at my unkempt lawn because that would only tell me I’m lazy.

I hear the Friday night cheers and groans from the nearby football stadium as the fortunes of the high school coach are determined by the efforts of the youngsters butting heads and catching balls.

I get emails from who knows who about trips to points east and north as they board buses on a ‘fall foliage’ tour. And then I get emails with pictures of stands of trees showing off their golds, reds, yellows and browns, and a bunch of oohs, ahhs, and wows to make certain that I know I’ve missed something special. Then I get emails telling me all about the bus trip and the wonderful maple syrup they brought back.

So, from the comfort of my chair I get the full flavor of fall, and never have to leave my home. For the less motivated of us, it’s easy to live vicariously through this wonderful season without working up a sweat, enjoying the efforts of others while sipping on hot tea or a Black Russian or a Bloody Mary, or Baileys or … whatever is handy.

Maybe it’s those drinks that change people’s attitude in the fall. Never thought of that.