In a World of Octobers

Dear Whoever You Might Be,

      The drama's done.

      Those were the words that the epilogue to Moby Dick began with. Do you know what that means? I have finished the novel. It is finally over. Ahab died, the White Whale lived and Ishmael survived the wreckage to tell the tale. I must admit, though I bemoaned the majority of this classic a few posts back, the last one-hundred pages were well worth the year-long struggle.  These last few chapters captured the adventure and suspense that I originally anticiapted when buying Melville's classic. Alas matey's, it is finished, and I am proud to say I read it. In the future, when I boast this difficult feat, I may hesitate in how many months it actually took me to read it, but you, my dear readers, have the privilege of knowing the truth.

      Now, no more on Moby Dick. I have exhausted it beyond my own want and it is not like I am going to get a reward for my plug. So, on to more interesting things...I hope.

      On Sunday morning (and by morning I mean before the sun even has a chance to yawn), I will be travelling south until next summer. Unfortunately, travelling south leaves little promise of crisp fall weather.

      I love the fall. It makes me want to buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.

      Since I sometimes tend to have no original thoughts, I am certain that you can guess where I just pulled that ^ quote from. I'll give you a minute to think on it.............

      Time's up. Ready? You've Got Mail. If you guessed correctly, than I thank you for heeding my advice and watching. If not, then I can only shake my head and move on in hopes that you will do so. I know, my constant quoting from that movie is getting rather monotonous, but doesn't it just fit so perfectly?

      As I was saying, I love the fall. I love the brilliant colors which illuminate the trees. The crunching sound of the fallen leaves under this seasons new brown boots. The matching scarves. The thick and comforting sweaters. Apple Cider. Pumpkin Pie. Bonfires. The whistling wind. But most of all, I love the crisp fresh air that awakens every muscle as soon as you step outside. You know the weather; the kind that waters your eyes after sitting in warmth all day; that lets you inhale a clean and deep breath after a week-long cold; that smothers any hint of remaining humidity and lays down a chilly path towards winter. I live for this kind of weather. In Maryland, it usually lasts for a solid handful of weeks.

      In North Carolina, I am lucky for a few short weeks of this delightful air. Sometimes, it doesn't even last for a few. But I hope this year, it will. This weather makes me feel alive and invigorated. It confirms that I cannot possibly live anywhere that doesn't have a wonderful fall season. I refuse to plant myself somewhere for the rest of my life where the weather does not possess the acceptable amount of crispiness.

      I realize that it is too early for me to be writing of such things. But it cannot be helped. Going back to school means dusting off the backpacks and the crayola markers and sharpening new pencils. And, going back to school, of course, means the taste of fall is soon to come.

      So many famous authors and poets write the most beautiful words regarding the autumnal season:

"My sorrow, when she's here with me,                                        "Every leaf speaks bliss to me,
Thinks these dark days of autumn rain                                         Fluttering from the autumn tree."
Are beautiful as days can be;                                                                 - Emily Bronte
She loves the bare, the withered tree;
She walks the sodden pasture lane."- Robert Frost

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air." -Nathaniel Hawthorne

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." - George Eliot

      This last one by George Eliot, aka Mary Anne Evans, is my favorite. I think it would be most spectacular to travel the world so that I could always have fall in the palm of my hand.

      My readers, it is my parting wish for you to remember to step outside during the crisp weather and breathe in the fresh air. If you do not live in a place where the fall season truly touches, than close your eyes and imagine. Because as Anne tells Matthew Cuthbert in Anne of Green Gables, "When you are imagining, you might as well imagine something worthwhile."

                                                                 Sincerely,
                                                                          Me