RUNNEMEDE REMEMBERED

Growing up in a small town in Southern New Jersey


Saturday, September 24, 2011

It's that time again



Fall has officially arrived and I am presenting again my annual rant about the descending darkness. Can you feel it? I can. I especially notice it in the morning. It's dark outside until almost 8 a.m. In the evening, it doesn't get dark until after 7:30.

I don't like the shortening of the hours of daylight. I guess I should move some place near the equator where I would get 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness and that would be it. But that's a little boring.

As a girl, this was the time of year when the cool weather blew in, the leaves changed their color to those beautiful reds and oranges which are abundant in the Northeast, and which in the midwest are more of a burnished yellow or orange. The trees are the same "brands" (oaks, maples, sycamores, etc) but the leaves don't change to the same hues as those which I was so fond of back when I lived in Runnemede.

I so enjoyed taking a walk after dinner -- that would be around 6:00 p.m. I would start at the front porch, descend the steps, and turn left on the sidewalk. I'd then walk down to the pike, turn right, do my window shopping tour until I got to Clements Bridge Road, then I'd turn left, and head east on CBR to the place where Second Avenue comes into CBR and then turn left again until I reach home.

I remember that most evenings I had to wear at least a sweater, and my little nose would be a little runny when I got home. This September, so far, I haven't needed a sweater in the evening, and my nose is, well, it's dry.

So, my rant isn't really a rant, but I am not looking forward to the impending darkness that won't change over until after Christmas. Yikes! Can I say that word already? It's coming up faster than I'd like, but I do love the remembrances of my childhood Christmases.

ttfn

No comments: