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Saturday, September 15, 2012

Summer Sings Into Fall



The amplified music rolls over roofs, down alleys, spills into the house. I pause in the kitchen, knife poised over the last of the truly good cucumbers, tilt my head to listen as an amplified voice chatters excitedly in some Latin American tongue. Since my Spanish is limited to being able to ask for “one more, please” or to understand that if I “marco dos” I will hear the information regarding my bank account in a language other than my own, I have limited ideas as to what he’s saying, only know that high, childish voices cheer and chant when he finishes.

The sound is confusing, muffled and bouncing among the two- and three-story houses. Jeff, two blocks away, sends a text: Is there music in the park today? He refers to the large park across the street. I go out onto the porch. There had been two shifts of Hispanic families and their futbol teams, the inevitable ice cream man trolling hopefully at their outskirts; but the park is empty now.

It’s a beautiful day, the kind that reminds you of summer’s fragility. Sure the leaves are green, the sky brilliantly blue, but every night, the temperature dips just a little bit lower, and the mornings now beg the question: Do I wear a jacket to the bus, knowing that I will need to carry it in the afternoon?

The quiet approach of fall – like the muffling silence of a blizzard – brings somberness with it. The wind blows in ever-cooler gusts, and something primordial in the back of my mind whispers “Store up. Make sure there will be enough.”

The music drifts over my roof and through my windows: a bass guitar, an electric piano, and a man’s plaintive voice.

I still can’t tell where it’s coming from or what he’s talking about, but it sounds like “say good-bye”.

33 comments:

Shelly said...

Ahhh, beautiful words, Pearlie. Love that fall is moving in there with you. Give it a beso for me and tell it to hurry on down here.

The Cranky said...

Autumn is closing in; welcoming us back to our snug cocoons before covering us in fluffy white blankets..

Beautifully written.

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

Sounds like the melancholy of fall is settling in.

Sioux Roslawski said...

What a lovely, wistful post, Pearl. I love the dipping of the temperature.

Perpetua said...

I love the elegiac feel of this, Pearl, and it's very much the same over here in Normandy.

esbboston said...

My solution to the have-to-carry-the-jacket problem is to have a dozen jackets. Leave them at the office, and when you get close to empty at the house, FedEx them back home. This can be reaLLy interesting for The Pearl Observers on The Bus as they notice you going through a wide range of jackets, but never carrying them home. This may lead them to think falsely that you are like Jackie O never wearing the same thing twice, or in this case, a half of one time.

jabblog said...

I like this time of year - the air is soft, the sunlight mellow - but it is getting cooler.

Douglas said...

Ah yes, fall.... down here, that starts in November and ends in March.

Unknown said...

The days are still lovely, but there's a hint of what's to come in the early morning and late night air!

ellen abbott said...

no melancholy here, just plain relief that summer is over.

jenny_o said...

What a lovely piece of writing, Pearl. It's evocative of the kind of fall we know too.

I always knew that windy days sounded different in fall than spring, but never thought to wonder why until a couple of years ago. I realized it's the sound of the full leaves rustling. In spring it's an icier, clearer sound as the breezes blow clear through those naked branches!

Have a good weekend, everyone.


Unknown said...

Lovely!!

Are you making pickles?

sage said...

Wonderful writing... yes, it's getting cooler and sadly, I took my saiboat out of the water this week, the water itself was getting a little chilly.

Anonymous said...

There is a sadness in the air.

SM said...

beautifully written

Happy Frog and I said...

Oh Pearl, I've read this over a few times now, just beautiful and one of my favourite posts of yours.

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

Yes, really fine. I had my own jacket-or-no-jacket quandary just the other day. Gotta start digging out the warmer clothes one of these days.

Joanne Noragon said...

The end of summer used to mean leaving the house a little later to avoid the school buses. Now it means leaving earlier, to wait for them with the girls.

Geo. said...

Beautifully written piece, Pearl. I wish we had Autumn here but it's the Summer That Wouldn't Die. Maybe Hollywood will have it fight the Blob in a movie someday.

savannah said...

sweet mary sunshine, sugar! i thought i left a comment here earlier, but it seems i didn't. *sigh* it's still ht here and we're only mid way through hurricane season and it's hot and humid still. i guess the seasons are changing...somewhere xoxoxo

Elephant's Child said...

Autumn/fall is a truly beautiful time of year. A time when you can snuggle into bed again. A time when comfort food tempts. A time for staying inside and reading...

Indigo Roth said...

Hey Pearl! Lovely stuff, I was right there with you. Indigo x

Linda O'Connell said...

Wistful and churning post today.

jenn said...

Lovely and melancholy, exactly like the final days of summer.

Rose L said...

Not goodbye--till we meet again, adios, Au revoir, Ciao, À bientôt, Adieu, aloha,...get the idea.

Anonymous said...

BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN!!!

River said...

I have the same jacket dilemma. We're just coming out of winter, so I wear the jacket in the cool mornings knowing I'll have to carry it home. At the other end of summer, I'll be carrying it to work knowing I'll need one while waiting for the bus to get home. My life revolves around the jacket.

Marsha Young said...

Pearl,
So true, that bit about wearing a jacket in the morning and then having to carry it all afternoon.

That made me smile. :)

Lynn said...

Ohhhh - that's lovely, Pearl.

Dawn@Lighten Up! said...


"It's a beautiful day, the kind that reminds you of summer's fragility."
Wow. You nailed it. Such an amazing writer - you put into words exactly how I am feeling about the end of summer - which I could never quite put my finger on. :)

the walking man said...

Alright who kidnapped Pearl and hijacked her blog? This read so very poetic I almost wish I had written it, but I want summer 24/7/365 with one day of winter every 4 years.

Sheribear said...

Amen walking man! But if you Havta live where winter is just waiting to kill ya, you do get a little tease w/autumn, & I do admit, I miss fall a little. Sheribear

Kana said...

You voiced the great Fall Dilemna with succinct yet artfully graceful precision. The little burrowing creature within us all awakens and demands we start to stockpile, yet your cache is full of refreshing joy. Thanks for showing me the positive side! I will think of your post as I layer up. :)