Memories from a checkout line
Written by Frank Kurtz, Sep 9, 2012, 0 Comments
As the cashier is completing my late-night bread loaf transaction at Publix, another customer gets in line behind me.
He unloads his groceries on the register conveyer belt. He’s got Wavy Lays, a two-liter bottle of Coca Cola, hand soap, and then the sweet succulent smell synonymous with the coming Autumn fills my olfactory, triggering a train of thoughts of what lies ahead over the next few months.
The shopper was buying a cinnamon broom.
I comment on the surprise that fall is right around the corner to the cashier, who mentions that her mother had seen Canadian Geese in chevron flight recently; a sight I witnessed the next day.
Evening hours have already made the slight transition, especially in the hour or so before the sun sets. You can feel the cool undertone of seasonal change on your skin.
Summer is to the South as winter is to the North. The worst weather of the year is soon behind us.
It’ll soon be camping weather, and afternoons at Raymond James Stadium will be pure paradise. Soon all Floridians be able to walk out to the mailbox and not have to bathe afterward.
Even though we don’t change the clocks back until November, the late afternoon shadows are starting to get longer. And in the early morning hours, the constellation Orion is visible.
The Harvest Moon, my personal favorite moon appearance, will be at the end of September.
Some trees have already started to shed leaves and various species of trees will turn their leaves from now until April.
Soon, there will be days without a cloud in the sky while the sun hangs low on the horizon.
The College Extra section in the Tampa Bay Times also confirms that the season will soon be a-changin’.
Hopefully the Bulls won’t do what they usually do: go bobber down for the beginning and then choke in the middle of the season, then continue to cough away at any possible Big East Championship (I’d really like to add another South Florida Bowl tee shirt to my collection. C’mon B.J., play like Grothe but better).
The Rays are playing well and the last month of the season should be interesting–could be a playoff run resulting in another chance at the World Series.
Perhaps the Buccaneers will sell at least 85 percent of their tickets for a home game so they can insure their broadcast to the local population instead of the typical blackout.
All these thoughts triggered by the smell of a cinnamon broom. Autumn, Floridians can’t wait to see you.
fkurtz@mail.usf.edu
