Sunday, October 7, 2007

Indian Summer -- by Larry D. Sweazy

So, autumn is officially here—and today it is supposed to be 91 degrees. The leaves have barely begun to turn, they are brittle, faded—an explosion of gold and red leaves is not in the forecast because of the summer drought. Is it Indian Summer or another nutty season caused by Global Warming? Without being an ostrich with my head in the sand, I’ll pick Indian Summer for now. I’m not sure I’m ready for winter just yet.

Don’t get me wrong, I like winter. A break from yard work is nice. A pot of vegetable soup or chili simmering on the stove gives me a warm fuzzy feeling you can’t buy in a bottle. I don’t mind the extension of darkness so much, at least not until mid-January when I am ready to flee to Florida for a dose of sand and sun. And snow? I’ve always liked snow. I don’t have to drive in it, so there’s no stress there. I can sit at my desk and watch it fall without concern, and get up every once in a while to put a log on the fire. Sounds nice doesn’t it? It is. For a day or two. Then the reality of isolation sets in. After 10 years, you would think I would have found the cure for cabin fever before now. I haven’t.

Indian Summer can stick around for a little while longer so I can figure out my tactic for this year. Most of the time I just write more and read more. That’s probably what I’ll do this year, too.

Of course, there is the possibility that this heat wave in October really is Global Warming. In that case, I may not have to worry about winter so much. Okay, GW is not a humorous subject, and I’m trying to make light of it—unlike the oil companies who seem to be spending A LOT of advertising money to convince us all that it’s Easy Being Green—but what if Indiana becomes the new Florida? You know, like 50 is the new 40?

Then I won’t have to go anywhere in January—I can stare out my window at the new grove of palm trees in my front yard.

Crap.

I guess I’ll just keep doing what I’ve been doing no matter what the weather is—and enjoy the day. Today. Winter will be here soon enough.

No comments: