Sweet October

Always my favorite month of the year, first because of my October birthday, this month is filled with wonderful change. Even Florida's stubborn insistence on heat and humidity cannot withstand the change in the weather that late October brings.

Growing up in New York I relished the first chance to put on those new corduroy and woolen clothes we had purchased for back to school; the scratchy feel of a new jacket before it was broken in or abandoned in the school lost-and-found. The leaves, with their sweet smell of decay and omnipresent crunch underfoot, white noise for my nose and ears. And Halloween, the day of endless possibilities. Up North we do not have the ridiculous tradition of waiting until sunset to begin the festivities. Trick-or-treating my way home from the bus stop, in costume from a day of candy and parades at school, I would empty my bag of loot before I even really got started.

This morning, during my predawn run, I caught a glimpse of those Octobers. The wind blew, and I jogged across wet fallen leaves. I can't go back in time, and I don't think I'd really want to. But a cool October morning can take me there if only for a moment.