It’s Fall, Y’all

Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. There are so many reasons why fall is the superior season, and I’ll name a few of them here.
Temperatures drop just enough so that you can sleep with the windows open, the breeze caressing your face as you dream. Cooler weather also means that it’s time to break out the comfy sweaters and boots.
The food is delightful. I’ll have one of apple everything, please. I’ll forgo the pumpkin spice, though. I never could get into that craze, although I’ve heard it’s quite popular.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been known to have a pumpkin-spice-flavored coffee or two, but I draw the line at Pumpkin Spice SPAM. Yes, that’s a real thing, and we must stop this madness.
There’s no doubt that fall is here when the leaves change from green to yellow, orange, and red. It makes for a pleasant scene driving on the Garden State Parkway.
Don’t get me started on the fall activities, as they’re just the best. I encourage you to take some time to go apple picking, go on a hayride, have a picnic, and carve a pumpkin. You won’t be disappointed.
Fall means that the holidays are just around the corner, and are something that I look forward to.
Halloween gives neighbors the opportunity to catch up, something that can be hard to do during the busy year, while ‘oohing’ and ‘aahing’ at their children’s colorful and sometimes crazy costumes, not to mention the chance to eat way too much candy. This is something I take full advantage of.
Thanksgiving is for family, as well as a time to look back at the last year and appreciate all that we have.
Christmas is for giving, not only to those we know, but to those we don’t, and it’s not necessarily the giving of gifts, but the giving of one’s time to others that makes the difference.
How else do we know it’s fall, especially in Cape May County? The crowds dwindle, traffic is reduced, and the calm returns.
Some call this time of year the “locals’ summer.” I don’t know about that, but what I do know is I can go to a restaurant without a ridiculously long wait, and I’m OK with that.
Here at the Herald, we look at the changing of the season as an opportunity to come up with new story ideas related to that season, and we need your help.
Do you have any story ideas that you’d like to share? Email them to me at editor@cmcherald.com.
Be sure to tell me what your favorite season is and why. If it’s not fall, you’re wrong, but I won’t hold that against you.
ED. NOTE: The author is the managing editor of the Cape May County Herald.