Autumn Memories By: Harold Stockburger With days getting shorter and cooler and with summers bright colors fading into shades of reds, yellows, and browns, I cannot help but recall many of my favorite memories of autumn. Whether it was simple walks through the woods on cool fall mornings, or time spent with friends, this has always been a special time to me. My earliest memory of fall was riding with my parents up into the mountains to see just how beautiful the trees were as they were preparing to shed their leaves in anticipation of a long cold winter. For some reason I have never gotten enough of that and still look forward to those Sunday afternoon drives, just to see the awesome display of nature, painted by God’s own hand. Having had two grandfathers who owned farms, as you might imagine no fall memory would be complete without a tractor, an old wooden wagon, and bales of hay to sit on and play in. Even as a small child I remember them hitching up the wagon and taking us for a ride down them old dirt roads. It always seemed like the woods would come alive with wildlife anytime we rode out into them. If I close my eyes, I can still feel the cool wind in my face from those simple hayrides. No fall memory would be complete without a big pile of leaves to jump and roll around in. It never mattered whether my dad had raked them or I had, the result was the same, we would wind up right smack dab in the middle of them playing. Of course, afterwards we would do something that is no longer encouraged or even allowed in some areas, we burnt them. Recently I was thinking about this and realized that it had been a long time since I had smelled the scent of leaves burning in the air. I can remember when the county fair was something that everyone attended; now most counties do not even bother. In those counties that still have them they seem more like carnivals rather than the old county fairs I still remember. We have lost so much in our modern society that our children and grandchildren will never experience. Even as I was growing into my teens, hayrides were still a ritual for the fall season. The only difference is they became bigger and usually ended with everybody gathered around a big bonfire, roasting hot dogs, telling ghost stories, and singing songs way into the night until the fire had diminished. Then of course, there was no greater ritual than Friday nights at the football games. Whether your team won or lost, the memories are still good, because they involved the entire community coming together to root for the home team. Someone once said that in the south football is a religion and I for one can believe that, because in my hometown, you spent Friday anticipating the games all day. On Saturday, you watched your favorite College team, then on Sunday if you were not watching football, you met friends after Church for a rough and tumble game of back yard football. Sometimes I still feel suffer with pain from injuries during those games. Fall is by far one of the most special times of the year, and all it takes is to close your eyes and travel back to those beautiful autumns of our youth. Maybe if we pause long enough we will find the time to create similar memories for our children and grandchildren as well.
Posted on: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 20:39:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015