Summer People...Fall People
Written by MJ Reporter Willow LaMunyon
The Changing of Seasons gets a Medicare Jet-Setter's Groovy Review
I am a summer person. It's the time when flowers bloom, and trees are so full of green leaves you can't even see the branches. Outdoor activities, long days, and those beautiful leaves, what more could a person want? Ever since childhood, I have dreaded the end of summer when heavier clothing becomes a must. The dread ends when the magic happens. It feels as though the whole neighborhood turns golden when the leaves change colors, and the days get shorter and shorter until the dawn finally waits long enough for me to wake up and see it. All through the summer evening was time to take a walk with my dog pushing her pet stroller and greeting the other walkers. The late-day breeze and the shade of many trees that grace our streets was a nightly pleasure. This time of year, those trees are busy dropping their leaves, and my dog and I walk right after lunch. Every day the branches become more visible, and the leaves fall on us and around us like celebration confetti. It is so groovy that I forget all about being a summer person until . . . The leaves stack up around the fence, the sides of the house, and turn a dirty shade of brown. They totally lose their charm and make me wonder if they are a fire hazard stacked so high and so close to the house. Time has come to pick them up, and I remember why I am a summer person again.
The rake hadn't been misplaced during the summer as I hoped, so there was no excuse to delay the chore. For around two minutes, I worked with a passion, but my hands were already starting to get sore, and blisters hurt, so I thought, Okay, there has to be a better way to do this, and I will find that way tomorrow or maybe the next day. A week later, the piles of leaves were higher and browner, but that didn't bother me at all because I had a plan. My perfectly good riding lawn mower with a mulcher was waiting to eat some of that brown menace. It worked, Hallelujah. I drive around and around and around my yard, and it looked so good when I finished the chore. I got to work outside in perfect autumn weather, and although it took hours to clean up my big yard, it was worth the effort. Finally, I relaxed, fixed myself an adult drink, turned on the TV, and watched the news and weather. The meteorologist said a cold front would hit before midnight with high winds and temperatures in the 40s. Wow, I missed a bullet there. During the night, I heard the wind howl and felt the temperatures come down. The next day I made a cup of coffee and went out to the deck to have my coffee. I hadn't realized there were so many leaves left on the trees ready to fall off the day before, but they dropped during the windy night. It looked as though there were more of them on the ground than the day before. Did I mention that I am a summer person?