Fall in Texas

Mid-October, and it's fall here in Houston.  Not really, of course.  The autumn equinox happened in September, a month ago.  But here, fall arrives in its own time and announces itself with a cool breeze, bright sunshine and cloudless skies.  I sit outside, and as I breathe in the crisp air, I remember the falls of my childhood.

Autumn always brought new energy--the new school year, new classes, new clothes, the season of possibilities.   The night sky seemed blacker, the stars brighter and though the days were shorter, they seemed sunnier.

I associated fall with the smell of outdoor cooking.  The neighbors down the street would barbecue outside, and the odor of cooking meat would drift down to our house.

Fall was football.  Texas has always been the home of Friday Night Lights and in those childhood years, football for me was Hyde Park Stadium, home of the Austin High Maroons.  My father took me to my first game between Austin High and a school whose name I don't recall, but I remember the cheers and the noise and excitement.  On Saturdays in the time when the University of Texas ruled the football world, there were games in Memorial Stadium--orange and white uniforms against the green grass, the UT Cowboys marching group and the band playing "The Eyes of Texas."

Fall was Halloween costumes, the thrill of being out in the dark, candy (which we rarely ate) and the anticipation of trick or treating at the big white house on Enfield Road which never seemed to have any lights on or any cars in the driveway.  With a mixture of excitement and teror, we would ring the doorbell.  A man in the shadowy front hall would hand us a few gum drops and slam the door.  Perhaps he was a pre-Mockingbird Boo Radley.

When I had children of my own, I relived those Halloween nights as I trailed along on their trick or treat route.  I still have the little pink hat with bunny ears that my daughter wore on her first Halloween.

The trees in Texas autumns are lackluster.  Leaves don't turn this far south, so we never saw the vivid colors that appear in other parts of the country.  Oaks grow in Texas, and acorns are abundant here.  We used to pick them up on the school playground, take them home, shellac them and string them into necklaces.  Pecans are plentiful, too, and my cousin and I would walk the neighborhood gathering them.  The fact that they were from other people's yards never deterred us.

* * *

A couple of days pass and it's summer again--90 degrees with high humidity.  The short autumn interlude has ended but in a few days or a few weeks, it will return.  Perhaps it will last a little longer, perhaps not.  It may bypass us altogether and winter will take its place.  Such is fall in Houston, a season that's not too hot, not too cold, and far too brief.

* * *

This year, forget football.  Fall is the World Series and after beating the Yankees in a perfect, series ending walk-off ninth inning home run by Jose Altuve, the Astros are ready to meet, and we hope beat, the Washington Nationals.  First game is Tuesday and I'll be watching.