The Trials of Being a Junk Musician (and a Flaming Romantic)
From a 03 November 2008 Facebook post.
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The weather today was sublime, to say the least. We’re in the midst of an Indian summer (a term I’ve just recently been taught), and the temperature was in the balmy upper sixties all day. It was shorts-and-t-shirt weather, and I took full advantage of it. After a fantastic concert at the MAC, I had a leisurely stroll back to Forest, where I delighted in the scarlet and butter yellow leaves that were clinging desperately to the almost naked branches and swirling in eddies at my feet. The light breeze would sometimes tug at my sleeves and I would get a brief – but not unpleasant – chill at the beauty of being caught up in this moment’s serenity.
I had to wonder whether someone who had lived here all their life could appreciate this: the completely organic wonderment of autumn. This, I thought, must be what it’s like for a toddler playing in the shorebreak at Hapuna for the first time. Bubbly at the sensation of sand between their toes and the cool water playing at their ankles. Shrieking in delight when a small wave knocks them over. Here, when the weather gets cold, I am that toddler. I might stand in one spot for several minutes trying to figure out at what angle my breath will best catch the sunlight. I’ll stop dead in the middle of a path surrounded by disgruntled pedestrians just to gaze at the trees. I can’t even begin to imagine how I’m going to be when the first real snow falls. Waking up to a marshmallow world would be unbelievable, and it’s going to happen.
But for the people who have spent their entire lives hating the cold and the snow, I wish I could share some of this sentiment. They are the ones that want to go to Hawai’i in the worst way, and I pity them. “Paradise” has become so commercialized that it’s almost not worth it anymore. The sun and the beach and drinking out of coconuts with toothpick umbrellas; it’s great for the economy, yes. But oh, autumn. It’s so inherently beautiful without even trying. Mother Nature is giving us a show right here, and we don’t have to spend a dime.
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