Clear Blue Skies

Posted to OGR on 10/03/2010

In my part of the country, fall marks the return of clear blue skies. Summer skies are a generally hazy, pastel blue. The rich deep blue of a crisp fall morning is sure sign that the seasons have changed. Normally that happens in the middle of October, but the change arrived a couple of weeks earlier this year. Not that I’m complaining, this has been a bear of a summer, the hottest one on record.

To me, sounds and smells are a big part of life. During the summer, the purr of distant lawnmowers and the gentle swish of sprinklers fill the air. One of my favorite sprinklers are the ones that go pft-pft as they spray a stream of water in an arc. That says “Summer” to me. Now as the seasons change, the sound of rakes and leaf blowers fill the air and the smell of new-mown grass and hamburgers on the grill are replaced by burning leaves and the aroma of fair food. As I write this, visions of Polish Sausage with peppers and onions, cotton candy and popcorn dance through my head. The State Fair will be here in a couple of weeks and I swear, even though I live about 4 miles from the fairgrounds as the crow flies, I can smell the fair from here. I can sure work up an appetite raking the front yard smelling the fair.

Whenever I think about fall and the fairs and festivals that always accompany it, I always think of the music of fall, everything from Roger Williams “Autumn Leaves” to “Palisades Park" by Freddy Cannon. The rhythm of life seems to pick up a higher tempo in the fall. Back in my top 40 radio days it seemed that there were more kids hanging around the “remote” radio studio we operated at Doug Broome’s Drive-In Restaurant in the fall than any other time of the year. I always got more requests and dedications on fall evenings. There was excitement and anticipation in the air! Oh MY!

Copyright 2010 Rick Wrigley