Autum begins, summer end

Autumn begins this evening at 5:05 on the East Coast -- does it roll around the globe [or has it been rolling around the globe for a few hours now, always arriving at 5:05 in the evening of Sept. 23rd, this year? Our way of telling time always is a kind of glitch in my rational [I think it's rational!] mental picture. For instance, all of India is on a time zone that's a half hour out of sync with all its neighboring countries so autumn will arrive there either at 4:35 or 5:35. I wonder if I'm alone in amazement at the things we rational [we think we're rational] human beings have chosen to live with in order to make our civilizations run in a regimented way.

For now never mind those spacy considerations. The weather has suggested autumn's arrival for the past couple of weeks. Cooler temperatures, days of gray dampness with occasional return of beautiful sunny warmth. We don't need the artificial calculations of those who determine the precise minute of the equinox [when curious kids try to stand eggs on their end]. I can feel it on my face when I open the patio door and step outside while my coffee pot heats up. The human skin is a good calculator if you've been in the habit of paying attention.

Summer was lovely; to me summer is always lovely. I literally love those warm, even hot, days; love when I am walking barefoot on grass or sand or wading in water. Always have, I think, since I was quite small. And many, if not most, other people feel the same. But I also love the crisp coolness of an autumn morning or afternoon when a sweater is just the right amount of protection. Gray, damp mornings such as today is have a sensual velvety-ness that kisses the cheek like an old friend who may have once been more then a casual friend. I like the instances when I can stop and think for a few minutes about these usually taken for granted senstions.