Thinking Of Fall
written by Glenn Hanks
Norman Rockwell had a knack for capturing the epitome of America at a glance, for nearly five decades, on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. Rustic views of home and family were constant themes in his work.
Fall represents some of the best imagery of living in America. The beginning of school and the end of summer frolicking bring fall festivities and a new regiment to our daily actions. School schedules, bus routes and after school activities begin to fill our calendars. Fall brings a different flavor to our lives. Majestic swaths of color begin to erupt across our landscape and the splendor of nature reveals herself as she prepares for winter. Changes in clothing styles creep into our wardrobe as the warmth of summer dissipates.
Water sports turn to football and we spend Friday nights at the game rooting for our children or grandchildren and reminiscing of earlier more carefree times that make our hearts a little lighter. Decisions will be made on homecoming dates and dresses. Parents try capturing events in snapshots so they can embarrass their children while secretly remembering the pure joy and terror of their own dances, mourning their own age as they watch their children grow up.
History has provided us with so many wonderful events as the “holidays” move closer. We spend Halloween with our children dressed as ghouls, goblins and superheroes, going door to door collecting confections to make our sugar level jump to record highs. At the sweet mantra “Trick or Treat,” we feign horror and avail children of candy and send them merrily on their way to their next “victim.” Halloween parties and costume contests bring out our “creepy” creative streak.
We carve pumpkins to transform them into “Jack O’ Lanterns” that reveal our old world roots of men (or “jacks”) lighting lanterns that from a distance looked like a will o’ the wisp. At the end of the night, we are snug in our beds, tummy full of goodies and all the ghosts and goblins gone for another year.
Thanksgiving allows us to remember our history and the importance of family, friends and community. The Pilgrims’ successful survival of their first year is reflected in giving thanks for the bountiful blessings that we often forget in the bustle of life. We remember the importance of relying on each other and working together for common survival. This is a time for families to give thanks for the simple things we often overlook.
Turkey, ham, dressing, yams, mashed potatoes and desserts make a great recipe for an afternoon nap during the football game of your choice. The following day we see people scurry around like mice in a maze trying to squeeze a year’s worth of Christmas shopping into one day. My daughter plans this out like a D-Day invasion: every advertisement is read, every location strategically laid out with times of execution, the exact targets for each purchase confidently written out in her battle plan.
Obviously, depending on your particular religious beliefs, December holds many of our spiritual appreciations. Whether you are celebrating the birth of Jesus, the Festival of Lights or Muhammad’s first revelation, we all tend to look with kinder eyes, with more forgiveness in our hearts and have a little more charity in our souls.
We mend relationships, hug each other with a bit more care and a lot more love. We wonder why we don’t act like this all year. Many see fall as a sad time as the leaves fall and the blandness of winter approaches, but I see it as a wonderful time where we all seem to rededicate ourselves to our lives and loved ones.
So hold hands with your husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend, hug your family a little closer, smile as a cool breeze blows across your face, and remember that if a reporter asks you on Halloween if you like being a zombie, the correct answer is “I like turtles.”
Have a blessed and joy-filled fall!
Glenn Hanks
