Signs of Fall

Fall would be a welcome break in the heat we are having during the day. Here in Florida, the heat also has a humid feature which makes for unbearable conditions outside. I would hang up a load of clothes and come in with a wet tee shirt dripping in sweat. I would change my shirt and get comfortable in the air conditioning not wanting to go back outside until the sun descended in the sky. Fall has a natural tingle of coolness in the air. It is a change indicator in the heat pattern of the day.

Fall in the Florida seems to occur a lot slower than places like Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Indiana. The trees turn later, because of the heat. Sometimes, some trees don't change color at all. Florida does get a nice variety of fall wildflowers growing along the roads. Colors can range from deep purple to pretty pink. It could include some white and yellow flowers which grow freely and in great quantities. It is a rare sight to see a guy pull his car to the side of the road and get out to pick some flowers. I think I only remember seeing this happened once. I was thinking somewhere there is a lucky lady who has a guy whom appreciates real beauty.

My dad when he was working would pick wild flowers for his lady co-workers and they would just love having a fresh bouquet of flowers on their desk from my dad. My dad would also pick wild flowers for a bouquet to go with the Sunday morning breakfast he would fix us of sausage gravy and biscuits and an egg omelet.

Traveling back in time, I remember the fresh taste of wild onions from Tennessee. I loved the taste of wild onions. It was something I could eat all day long. Plus, no one would want to be around me, because I would smell like an onion. I didn't care. I was young and it was a luxury of my youth. The time the wild onions came out there was also a fall crispness in the air. The feel was strictly owned by the state, because it didn't feel exactly the same in Indiana.

Indiana, the feel was more pronounced. Tennessee there was a newness about the cooler weather. Walking down the streets of a small town in Indiana you could feel the coolness had established a time when kids would go back to school and the leaves overhead in the trees would start their turning cycle. The freshness said you could go a bit further and do a bit more than a hot confining summer.

It also made for pleasant nights when the need for air conditioning wasn't so necessary. The air from the outside was just cool enough to act like a natural air conditioning and save on a electric bill. The change of clothing was more pronounced. The shorts would be placed away and light pants would be the fashion along with a light long sleeve shirt or a short sleeve with a light jacket. The sky would be a deep blue and the rains would slack off, unless you are back in Florida.

North Carolina, I remember the coolness in the air from the fog first thing in the morning. I remember going to my Uncle's funeral with my dad traveling by car and staying overnight at a hotel along the interstate. The morning would greet us with a heavy cool fog ,which we made our way to the hotel restaurant where the hot coffee was there to greet us. Traveling there was no problem. Sharing a house full of guest was like camping out. You had to wait your turn to get into the bathroom. The coolness of the morning made early walks nice. On the way back home to Florida, my dad and I stopped by a house with a pumpkin patch outside. I took dad's picture in the middle of the pumpkin patch. We also bought a pumpkin pie to be consumed later at a State Park. The pie was sold by a preacher's wife who had a kitchen that smelled like homemade pumpkin. This pie was totally homemade.

My sister ask my mom if she has seen signs of Fall. Mom answers" not yet, but I will let you know when I do." Fall is a yearning for those who don't sit in the sun for hours and hours hoping to look like a dark brown beach body. They settle for fair skin covered with fall cothing. Fall is when school buses start up again picking up students and crossing guards are on duty for the students. Fall in Florida is when you watch the weather reports and hope the hurricane goes to Texas and you just get the leftover rain. This is what I deemed a true changing of the season.