Slim Randles' Home Country
Fall polish
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[November 01, 2008]
This is the polished time, the pinnacle of life. This is
fall, when everything puts on its best for the world to see, and
that makes it special. The sultry heat of summer has passed, and
in its place we have cool mornings when the tiny snap of winter's
promise briefly touches our skin. There is a magic quality of light
and feel in the air, and those of us who enjoy the outdoors know
it's time to go to camp. In our genes, we know it's time to go to
camp. It's time to be in the woods with rod and bow and gun and
rediscover ourselves. |
In town, it's time for the kids to be back in school, giving their
mothers time to think about themselves for a while. The trees, as
the sap shuts down in the leaves, share their gold and reds with us
and make commonplace scenes only a few weeks ago into magical
tapestries of nature.
The antlers of the deer have now been polished to a bone white at
the tips and a rugged brown elsewhere. They are prime, as is their
owner. It is fall. It is the polished time.
It is the time of finding a mate, of fighting for territory, of
defining our lives. It is fall. And we know we must polish ourselves
a little bit right now in order to fit in. We have to assess
ourselves and ask what we can do to make our lives a little shinier,
our hopes a little stronger, our promises to others more defined,
more definite.
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It is the time to let the fresh, cool air fill our lungs and let
us remember other falls, other campfires, other friends. Younger
friends, as we were younger.
And as the golden leaves fall in the late autumn breezes, it will
be time once again to cherish our mates and seek refuge from the
winter wind.
[Text from file received from Slim Randles]
Brought to you by "Sun Dog Days," available from University of
New Mexico Press at
www.unmpress.com.
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