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Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness by Christa Buswell These evocative words of Keats wander through my mind as I welcome "October's bright blue weather." (Old English majors never die, they just quote away.) Fall is my favorite season of the year. Nature gratefully slows down as we speed up our lives after a long summer. Why, we even start coming to church again. I write this aboard a put-put prop plane from Philadelphia to Williamsport, Pennsylvania. To where? I have you know that Williamsport is where they hold the Little League Championship games every year. How about that, sportsfans? The put-put is so scary they serve you free drinks. It buzzes along the lovely Susquehanna River, following its every twist and turn. Mists rise above it. I feel mellow-because of the mists or the free tranquilizer drink? Below, the earth is still lush and green. The trees are starting to turn. The land seems to rejoice in a job well done. Beautiful country, thank you, Lord! A flashback to an earlier flight over this land, one taken just a few days after 9-11. A patch of scorched earth, debris. God's green earth ravaged and despoiled by Man's murderous hatreds. WH Auden, in his eerily prophetic poem September 1, 1939, got it right: We must love one another or die. As nature prepares to rest, we gear up for the coming holiday season. At Books-by-the-Sea that means getting ready to search for those extra-special items for your extra-special holiday gifts. Gosh, my feet hurt thinking of those miles of displays at the LA Mart, the downtown wholesale center. You ought to see the place, it'll blow your mind. Bump! We've landed on what appears to be a giant meadow. You climb down a ladder, the luggage is unloaded by hand. Off we go in one of the two rental cars at the tiny airport. No traffic lights, no stop signs. Just a two-lane road through Hansel and Gretel woods. But wait! We stop for an Amish horse and buggy. The horse gives us an I've got the right o-way look, the driver lifts his hat in greeting. It's a gift to be simple …
Copyright © 2004 St. Augustine by-the-Sea
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