Changing of the Season

It's feeling like fall around the midwest, with cool evenings, shorter days (technically less sun, days are still 24 hours), leaves on the ground, and geese flocking through town on their way south from Canada. There's some great stuff about the Fall (or Autumn, but does anyone really call it Autumn?) so since I don't have a ton to update you on, I figured I'd give you a list of my favorite fall memories. Some happen every year, others are events that happened in my life between September and Thanksgiving. None of these will surprise you.

• Football. I know, you're probably thinking what a predictable, meatheady male thing for me to say, much less begin a list with. Well ya know what? Football is good. Hanging out with my friends watching it, talking about it, and even making lame attempts to play catch are all good things. But even if an alien came here from another planet and you brought them to a college campus or stadium on a sunny fall afternoon, they'd think it was pretty cool. The tailgating. The marching bands (college). The lunatics dressed in jerseys of players who have either long-since retired. I've lived in several parts of the country; Tampa, Miami, Seattle, and of course Chicago and I can say without a doubt that passionate football fans are one of the few things every major city has in common. I don't think it improves or saves lives, and it certainly can be argued that its the most barbaric, stupid, classless and ridiculous of the 4 major sports, but I like it and its my blog.
  
• Baseball Games with Relevance. Once again, those of you who read my stuff and hate sports are probably annoyed with back to back sports references. But the baseball season begins back in March/April and is a marathon. Months have gone by with games that blur together, and its nearly impossible to stay on top of it all...but come October it doesn't make a difference if you've watched a game in months; you stop what you're doing and pay homage to the MLB playoffs. This year will not include my team (the Cubs) but many a fond fall memory involves the Cubs either doing great or extremely shitty things to my sports psyche. And even when the Cubs weren't involved, I remember watching Kirk Gibson crank his home run against the A's with my dad in our living room, watching the Marlins beat the Indians with my grandfather in his hospital bed, and watching the Indians and Braves in Madison with the high school gang during our first Fall apart from each other as college freshmen.
• Halloween. For starters, I believe Halloween should be moved to the last Friday in October, kinda like what we do for Labor Day and Memorial Day. Parents can take the afternoon off without remorse to go trick or treat with their kids, and adults can act like idiots and have a full weekend to recover. There's really nothing good about Halloween falling on a Tuesday or Wednesday, and frankly, I don't know who would be opposed to this legislation other than people who truly celebrate All Hallow's Eve. Another great thing about Halloween is that it makes for great conversation with little kids in the month leading up to the big day. I don't care if you've ever met a kid, the "what are you dressing up as?" question is an instant ice breaker for anyone under age 10. It has been the topic of conversation of late at my sister's house, and there are some finalists but no final decisions just yet on what everyone will wear.
• Cool nights. This is mainly for sleeping purposes. I like to sleep with it pretty cold, and there's a great feeling that comes with actually needing blankets to stay warm. The only problem with the cold nights and warm blankets is that you have to leave them behind to get up, something that kinda sucks about Fall.
• Marathon/Columbus Day Weekend in Chicago. One of my most proud physical achievements was completing the Chicago marathon in 2004. Columbus Day weekend will always remind of that accomplishment, which isn't really all that unique given that 40,000 people accomplish the same thing every year that weekend. But as a guy who had a lot of health problems, 2004's marathon marked one of the high points in health for me. I'm always inspired when I hear cowbells, people screaming for their friends, and hordes of people running for 26 miles. I guess what inspires me is that all of them have a cool story, and all of them have worked their ass off to get to that point, and its like one big celebration of hard work, dedication, and commitment to achieving a goal. And there's some gruesome shit to look at as well, which can be mildly entertaining.
  
• Elections. Although we're not in a big election year, there's something cool about elections. I love to vote, and I hope you do too. And if you don't, then you are not allowed to bitch and/or moan about anything related to politics.
  
• Leaves. This one sounds superduper corny, but there is something cool about a bright yellow or red leafed (leaved?) tree. I also kinda like the sound of dry leaves underneath my feet on the sidewalk. And its also funny to watch Annie stick her nose in piles of leaves looking for some kind of treasure. I may sing a different tune if I end up having to rake
  
• The start of basketball season. Its easy to lose sight of basketball with football and the baseball playoffs going on in early October, but in the Whiskey house this was one of the more celebratory occasions. Bravo Whiskey (my dad) has held Bulls season tickets for 29 consecutive seasons, and it was always fun to find out which games there was a chance I'd get to attend with him. And as a guy who played basketball as a kid the Fall was the time to show how much (or more often how little) I had worked on my game since the previous season.
• Jackets. By January I'll be whining about how much I hate wearing a coat everywhere I go (although that would violate one of my agreements with you--that I'd never bitch about the weather). But breaking out the jacket/coat collection is always fun. Each year, I'm moderately surprised to find jackets I either forgot I owned or hadn't seen in a long time. New jackets entering the rotation is always exciting/fun as well, although that won't be high on my list of things to run out and buy. I also enjoy wearing sweatshirts, in case you care.