I know that is a fairly gruesome heading for a blog, but it is not as grim as you might imagine. I am merely referring to the that particular smell that accompanies the turning of the leaves in fall. Went for a walk yesterday in the woods and remembered how much I liked the entirety of the Autumn experience when I was a child.
Walking along a path carpeted with pine needles and surrounded by the yellow, red and brown colored leaves was one of my favorite solitary activities in my youth. I was fortunate that there were acres of woods behind our house and a pond and river. One could really contemplate the big issues of the world and life in general without any distractions. Of course, for me the big issues were hoping we weren’t having tuna casserole for dinner and trying to budget enough spare change for the next issue of Batman.
So, on yesterday’s walk, I remembered that fondness for brief moments of isolation. A chance to feel like you were the only person on the planet. There was one major difference. I was with my wonderful wife and the feeling was of we being the only two people on the planet. I enjoyed being alone as a kid, but not nearly as much as I enjoy never being alone now.