Autumn

At 11:44 am EST today, I will officially become homesick. At 11:44 am EST today, it will officially be Autumn.

Memories flood my mind. Growing up in Maine, this time of year was wonderful. The leaves began to turn (everyone has seen all the puzzles with New England fall landscapes), the air has already taken a turn for the cool side, apples ripen on the trees as the wind starts blowing from a different direction.

I loved sports as a school kid, still do, in fact. Playing sports meant walking home from school after practice. In the fall in Yarmouth, walking home after cross country practice was a beautiful thing.

Walking down main street meant a stop at Vaughn's Pharmacy for a cherry vanilla ice cream cone (cost me a quarter). If it was exceptionally late, Mr. Vaughn would call my mom to tell her I was there, okay, and on my way home.

The last half of my walk took me down Route 88, past the boatyard and the cemetery. The hill on Route 88 was the least looked forward to part of my walk. It seemed a long hill, especially after a hard practice.

As soon as I went under the Route 1 overpass, I could see the boatyard and smell the sardine cannery. Then came that hill. Pleasant Street was a lot more steep, so 88 it would be.

Dusk came early there. The sun began to set as I walked home. At the top of the hill lay Riverside Cemetery. Now, at the back of that cemetery was a path that cut through the woods toward my house, but as I said, the sun was setting.

The next part of 88 was dotted with houses, followed by the darkest part of my walk where the trees hung over the highway as the road dipped toward it's intersection with Princes Point Road. The air would get more crisp, and the smell of the King's pines would fill my head.

Westcustogo Inn sat at that corner, and turning down the home stretch, as I reached the edge of the Inn's parking area, I would often pick a couple of golden delicious apples from one of their trees, and munch one over the last leg of my walk.

The sun was getting lower now. I passed the Millett's, then the Knoop's. I could then see the amber glow from our kitchen window. Major ran out to greet me. I was home.