Monday, September 24, 2007

Summer Has Fallen and Autumn Has Sprung…Right???

Everyone keeps saying that Fall started yesterday. The last few days here in So Cal have been cold, rainy and windy. I think I even saw an orangeyish looking leaf on the ground yesterday. It was pretty brittle and may have been on the ground since June, but I am taking it as a good sign. However, it is supposed to be back up in the 90s within a few days so my Fall might be a little shorter than yours, which I guess is a good thing because falling is never really good for anyone and medically speaking, shorter Falls are safer. Trust me on this folks for I have fallen many, many times.

I would assume that Fall derived its name from the falling of leaves this time of year, but it could also be that the name came from the fact that new television comedies debut in Autumn and most are so bad that they quickly ‘fall’ off the TV schedule. With the nice summer weather coming to an end, it is also possible that Autumn is referred to as Fall because workers’ blatant false use of sick days to go to the beach ‘fall’ immensely. This is also about the time of year that the championship hopes of Dodgers, Cubs and Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans ‘fall’ to the ground unrealized for yet another year.

The nice thing about our subtly capitalistic society (did you notice my sarcastic tone there because I was really working it over time – that’s what she said. This is why a podcast might be better because then you would hear my sarcastic tone and I wouldn’t have to break the flow of my post to ask you if you sensed it…but I digress) is that no matter where you live you can tell what season it is. At lovely upscale shopping meccas like Target, Kohl’s and Wal-Mart, the day after school starts all of the school supply displays are incinerated or dumped in a big hole in the Nevada desert (I have on good authority that this is really what happens to the stuff, if ‘on good authority’ means something I read on an interweb site that didn’t start with ‘www’) and the Halloween/Fall dĂ©cor is brought out to replace it. I swear that I am tempted to not buy a calendar this year and just tell the passing of days, months and seasons by weekly trips to Target. Ok, well that and the fact that my cellphone displays the date. And my watch. And my computer. I’m still tempted though.

At Kohl’s the other day, I actually came across decorated Christmas trees with ornaments for sale. Yes, for longtime readers of this blog (by my count that is about 2) I did scream with glee. The only problem with this is that it gave the impression to Lucy and Ethel that they too could yell with glee. Though I think in their case the glee may have been more inspired by the fact that they could scream in a public place than the impendingness (my own word, you can use it if you wish) of the holidays. My point to all of this is the same as it was when I wrote about it last year: uh, isn’t it just a little early for Christmas? I mean at certain stores there is already more Christmas stuff for sale than there is Halloween and Autumn stuff. Seriously, I even saw fruitcake (mmmmmm, fruuuuuuit caaaaaaake. MMMMM, in all its nutty goodnesss) for sale at the big bulk place that is housed in a warehouse and sells its own pizza. I could handle beginning the Christmas season in November, but not the last few weeks of September, although I will admit for the record because I am honest that I did purchase a Sinatra Christmas album last year in early October. OK, and I did download a really cool version of Steve Lawrence and Edie Gormet (yeah, I said it! That’s how I roll) singing ‘Sleigh Ride’ yesterday, but I really don’t think that’s the point here. Are retailers pushing us to the point that Labor Day through Memorial Day will become the ‘holiday’ season?

I personally have always pictured fall as a big Thomas Kincaide or Charles Wysocki painting (are you impressed with my artistic knowledge? If not, then I say Renoir to you all!!). In these paintings, pumpkins abound, there are lots of shades of red, orange, yellow and brown and there is smoke from chimneys wafting into the air. Let’s contrast that scene to the one on my street. Some lawns are brown and dead from the excessive heat, trees are green, kids are playing outside until 8 at night in shorts, smoke wafts into the air…from BBQs and the setting sun and clouds are a beautiful orangeyish…from the smog. Oh and there are those wavy heat lines coming up from the sidewalk. If I could paint this scene, or anything other than stick figures whose proportions are way off, I would title it ‘September, October, April or May-August and Sometimes November…Just Take Your Pick.’

So no matter where you may live or be reading this, I wish you a Happy Fall or Happy Autumn (depending on your preference). Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to put on more sun tan lotion and get back to my hammock because my sun steeped ice tea should be ready soon. Hmmm, I wonder where I put that Sinatra Christmas album…

16 comments:

Airam said...

I love Fall. I've already started decorating my classroom with faux fall leaves. I wish I could keep them up all year long ...

Michael C said...

Airam: I love the 'idea' of Fall here in So Cal. I think you should try and keep the leaves up all year!

C said...

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Fall! I love ALL the seasons, but if I had to pick a fave, I think Fall (in the Midwest) would be it.

Today was the perfect First Day of Fall -- cranes flying over, cool, crisp air, sun, turning leaves scattered on the lawn, and mulled mead. Ahhhh!

I love Harry Connick Jr. Is he close enough to Sinatra for you? He's yummy!

Patti said...

You've given me an idea for a post. As soon as all the vibrant red, orange and yellow leaves appear I shall take photos of them and talk about the beauty of fall in Southern Connecticut. You can appreciate their beauty from afar...
It's not Vermont, but it's the Northeast.

P.S. I wrote about the approaching Yuletide season yesterday.
But that was yesterday, and yesterday's gone.

Hope it starts getting more autumn-like there soon.

AndreAnna said...

Another thing we have that you don't! You can take your Disneyland and stick it where Pluto don't shine!

;)

Heroes starts tonight, dunnit? I'm too damn busy to watch any TV. I'm going to have to clear off the DVR to make room for the new ones. I literally haven't watched TV in like 4-6 weeks. I miss it.

Anonymous said...

I'M IN SO CAL TOO AND IT IS A BIT ODD THAT WE HAD SUCH OPPRESSIVE HEAT FOLLOWED WITH RAIN AND CLOUDS THEN HEAT IS ON THE HORIZON....I LOVE FALL AND LOVE IT MORE WHEN I SEE IT IN THE AISLES OF STORES I GO TO...

Michael C said...

Candace: OK, Harry Connick can be considered close enough ;-)

Patti: I can't wait to see what this Fall thing is really about!

AA: Have you considered a job with your local convention and visitor's bureau? I think you'd be perfect for it! :D

Princess Extraordinaire: I completely know what you mean! At least we've got the store aisles. Which is why I just bought a bunch of Fall scented candles!! They market that stuff very well, you know?

Anonymous said...

We had some Christmas stuff in the stores in August. It was awe-inspiring, and yes, I blogged it.
If it makes you feel any better, we don't really have Fall here in Alaska, either. Well, we do, but it lasts about seven minutes. Then it's Snow Time.

Anonymous said...

Fall is MY FAVORITE time of year. I love the clothes, the boots, the leaves changing, that whole sense of renewal. (And its my birthday in October.)

But, they (as in the powers that be in charge of retail chain stores) are putting out XMAS stuff waaaaaay tooooo early.

I love XMAS, but, they way it's been marketed over the past few years? I am sick of XMAS by the time it comes around.

Seriously, I cannot with trees and the XMAS tunes until AFTER Halloween.

Anonymous said...

I'm not going to jump on the fall bandwagon. Don't get me wrong, I used to love, love, love the season, but I got frostbite this weekend while attending an outdoor wedding. FROSTBITE. I think it should be re-named, A BITE FROM GOD BECAUSE FALL IS AN AWFUL SEASON AND YOU SHOULD MOVE TO BURMA. That sounds poetic, yes?

Odat said...

I really fall for Fall....ha!
Peace

Open Grove Claudia said...

(vomit sound in background)
It's not EVEN Thanksgiving!! Sinatra's Christmas Album. Next thing you'll say is that it's snowing in Colorado.

Oh, that's right, it's snowing in the mountains today.

Sigh.

C said...

Brandy, it's really good I wasn't drinking anything when I read that! ^_^

Michael C said...

Wolf: Snow time sounds fun!! Probably not as much for you though.

Meleah: Yeah, November 1st sounds like a good time to unofficially begin the holiday season.

Brandy: Can you please rename aortic stenosis too? You have quite a touch with the medical names ;-)

Odat: Your joke 'leaves' me in stitches!

Claudia: Dreaming of a white last weekend of September, huh? Doesn't quite have the same ring to it I guess.

Candace: Me either!!!!

magickat said...

Fall is awesome. It's my favorite season. Well - the beginning of fall is. Because it's more like sumer. But with cooler clothes.

I love the idea of some of the upcoming fall shows - escpecailly "Back To You" on FOX.

And I love your podcasts. But that's a given. And unless you're a real asshole of a boss you aren't in jeopardy of getting cancelled.

Rebecca said...

And all this time I thought Christmas just couldn't come early enough for you!