'Tis the Season

Autumn is a very precious time. It's the shortest of the seasons, with the possible exception of spring. OK, technically they're all the same length, but you know what a season feels like.

Winter lasts from mid-November to the end of March, more or less. It can come as early as late October and end as late as the beginning of May. Winter is the time when you're uncomfortably cold outside and the trees are lifeless. The air is crisp to the point of unable to carry smells. It's a huge portion of the year.

Summer lasts more or less from late June through the end of September. It can start as early as early May and can occasionally push itself through the first week or two of October. Summer is short sleeves. The air is hot enough that normally innocuous smells reek, hanging heavy in the air.

Spring and fall get pushed in the cracks. Usually during spring I'm just so excited for summer that I rush it a little. The most fun part of spring is seeing trees flower before they grow their leaves. The second most fun part of spring is beginning to smell the sweetness of plant life. It's always a little unclear whether you're smelling it because things are actually blooming or because the air can hold smells again. It's both, of course, and it's fabulous.

Fall...well, fall is awesome. I could never really appreciate it in school because I missed the freedom of summer and was still adjusting to the year, unable to believe that I hadn't gotten more of the year over with yet. Which isn't to say I didn't like school...I just liked summer a little better. And I was stressed. Now that my workload doesn't change between summer and fall, I can appreciate how beautiful the season really is. The air is wonderfully crisp but filled with wonderful smells: apples and burning wood. Trees change colors; is there anything more beautiful? Fashion is great...light jackets are so hot, and I'm still comfortable going outside in them. And the featured holiday of the season is Halloween. Halloween! It's the best holiday ever! Sure it has weird-ass religious origins, but right now it's sheer fun. All about creepiness, but not about REAL death, just about vampires and zombies and other forms of fake death.

Oy, speaking of real death. There was a man lying on the sidewalk by my apartment as I was coming home today. It was wholly unclear whether he was still alive. His face was red, which I guess was a good sign, but really, he didn't look too good. Luckily for my moral confusion, a man was already calling an ambulance. I never know when it's appropriate to interfere. I guess if someone's passed out at 6:30 pm, when it's still light out, and he's not a "usual" in a spot, it's probably time to dial up 911. The ambulance came after I got home, and I couldn't see whether he was conscious when they loaded him in. Upsetting.