Autumn Still-Life

Today has been very rainy and overcast. On days like this, it's easy to forget that the weather isn't always this way. I try to keep a pleasant memory in mind when I'm off running around on days like this...

The chilly fall breeze of Friday afternoon wafted through my hair as I walked through the gathering leaves on either side of me. This far into October, the scattered piles of maroon and orange would only rise in number and height, adding final splashes of vibrance before winter took hold. I looked back on the week I'd just completed -- and I thought that, taken all for all, it was one of the better weeks of the year. It had been a little like trying to find a tune on my guitar for days and days and finally having the melody flow to me as easy as water. Things just coming together, meshing as if it had all been planned out anyway.

All around me, fellow students trickled by in their hooded sweatshirts and loaded backpacks, looking ahead to the end of their next class or the moment when they could finally shed their books and live for another weekend. Squirrels, feeling braver now that colder weather was imminent, darted in between Adidas and New Balance footfalls, clutching their latest treasure with wide, alert eyes.

This was it. This was fall, and it had walked right in and put its feet up as if it had never left.

Towering overhead, Burruss began singing the Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun," and I couldn't keep myself from smiling and breaking into a whistle. My notes melted into the air, and I could feel the bounce returning to my step.