Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Change of Seasons

As Agnes and I get older and think about what we want to do and where we want to live when we finally really retire, we've been debating the pros and cons of various places. We considered living in Germany, but after listening to Agnes's parents complain about how bad things are there, I'm not so sure...Mom must have said Deutschland ist neemee schoen ("Germany's not nice any more") about a gazillion times while they were here. We've considered Florida (too hot), Alaska (too cold), the Carolinas (too religiously fundamentalist), and Texas (too hot, too full of Texans, and too small to hold both Bilbo and George W. Bush). We have grandchildren in Virginia and Ohio, and much of my family still lives in Pennsylvania.

But wherever we finally settle has to have four seasons.

I need the change of seasons. I need to be able to watch nature come back to life in the Spring, and watch beautiful women in skimpy clothes in Summer. I love the crisp, chilly mornings of Autumn, and the ability to turn off the AC and sleep with the windows open. And it's nice in Winter to (occasionally) look out the window and see smooth, unbroken expanses of glistening white snow.

Of course, each season also has its drawbacks.

Getting caught in a chilly Spring shower is no fun; a 90-degree-and-100%-humidity Summer day just sucks the energy out of you; colorful Autumn leaves are pretty to look at, but will eventually turn into heaps of ugly brown mess needing to be raked, bagged, and disposed of; and those smooth, unbroken expanses of white that look so beautiful right after the Winter storm all need to be shoveled away.

Sigh.

Right now it's definitely Fall. The leaves are turning color and starting to fall. Mornings and evenings are chilly, days are warm, and football is starting to edge out baseball on TV. Every local high school sports team is selling something to buy uniforms and equipment or finance a trip somewhere. Newspaper inserts are advertising Halloween costumes and giant bags of candy to feed eager trick-or-treaters.

And the local Costco wholesale store has had major displays of Christmas decorations for almost a month.

Double sigh.

Where to settle down eventually? Don't know yet. But I need my four seasons.


No, not those.

For now, I'll just think about the best side of Autumn with this quote I culled from a New York Times editorial many years ago...

"The glory of autumn leaves drifts across lawn and meadow, rustling at the roadside. For a time, gold and rubies will gleam and glint in the sunlight and whisper in the breeze. Then frost and rain will dull the colors and still the restlessness. The leaves will blanket the earth and slowly become again a part of the soil from which they grew."

Very poetic. And it beats thinking about raking and the roar and snarl of leaf-blowers, the curse of Autumn.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

10 comments:

KKTSews said...

Don't forget the wonder of the bright orange Harvest Moon in the Fall. I love the effect that makes it look huge when it first rises and I always look for Linus and the pumpkin patch to be waiting for the "Great Pumpkin" viist.
Defnitely need seasonal change. Maybe we can start a liberal colony in the NC mountains?

The Mistress of the Dark said...

And at this point you have to consider if you can live in a house or a hooverville if you retire.

Gilahi said...

Actually, if you're seriously considering the Carolinas, you might consider Asheville. It's a haven of left-wing, crunchy, granola, vegetarian, love. It's also in the beautiful mountains and it certainly has 4 seasons (with no Frankie Valli). It's sort of like Chapel Hill, except that it's not surrounded by other towns.

John A Hill said...

I can do without the winter Three seasons would be just fine. I've always said that I'd throw a snow shovel in the trunk and drive south. When I find somebody that doesn't know what it is; then it would be safe to stop!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like St. Louis is your kind of town. We truly have the four seasons. Not the one's on the photo, but we do have Bob Kuban who was a one hit wonder with "The Cheater." Remember that oldie from the early 60's? We have Budweiser that is being bought out by In-Bev; Boeing who is competing with a Europian country to build U.S. military planes, etc. BUT most of all, for you and your lovely bride............we have Ballroom Dancing!!!!!!

Mike said...

Bandit forgot to mention Ted Drews.

Blog Stalker said...

I agree with you whole heartedly that all four seasons are great. I enjoy each and every season but not any of the seasonal extremes.

Maybe that is because change is good and when the change in seasons arrives it gives us new hope.

Believe it or not that has nothing to do with politics!

Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Isn't it neat to see the crocus popping up through little mounds of snow.

lacegem said...

I'm with gilahi. I think Ashville, NC would be the place for me. I'm not a beach person but I do love the mountains. I love the perfect cool weather up on top, plus the scenery is just breath taking! I can picture myself painting landscapes some day.

Unknown said...

I KNOW!! Peter Ustinov???? yeah.. that made me feel REALLY good about myself!!!

Love your blog - gonna go look around.

I live in Asheville by the way - it already IS a Liberal Colony in the NC Mountains...