the first day of fall

The first of these is usually just a stream of consciousness. No need to fight it...

Been so long since I have written in this thing. Life hasn't given much room for it lately... or I've given my stretches of internet time to facecrack. Let's be honest here.

But it's the first day of fall, when the short bursts of time that rocket summer stretch with the shadows under changing color trees- at least that's how it feels to me. So, maybe, with some forethought and determination, it'll be possible to set aside a breath or two and a little room to write.

I was rushing out of Hale today, skipping part of my office hours to grab a cheap burrito. My lunch bread was moldy and I felt like spending money. I was beelining for the crosswalk and run into one of our senior professors, standing in the street, eating an apple and looking at the trees. In our seminar with him, he always told us when to go to the mountains to see the aspens peaking. After my weekend in Telluride where yellow crept up the mountains, setting green trees on fire, I had been thinking of him a lot. We chatted about the best times, places and mood of the day to view the changing leaves. He said he was only eating an apple for lunch because he had an appointment in 20 minutes. As I ran across the street, dodging cars through an unchanged light, I realized he had put the first day of fall before a hurried meal. I barely heard this voice yelling from a faraway, nearly forgotten place in my head, "=======SLOW DOWN========!"

Looking back on this time two years ago (http://itsastretch.blogspot.com/2007/09/ground.html) I was trying to do the same- slow down. Breathe. Close the mouth, open the eyes and pay better attention to the fillings of life. I was recovering and starting anew. Why not again? Now is always a good time for that.