Yesterday marked the first day of the Fall season. Fall/Autumn is my favorite season of the year and always has been. There’s something about the light from the sun that’s kind of otherworldly… it feels like there’s an echo of childhood past tinged with the vague whispers of undiscovered wonders. I’ve always felt a slight sense of sorrow at the waning of another over-ripe summer– but there’s also always been something about Fall that energizes me. It’s the crispness of the air at first light and the gentle tug of war that goes on during the day as the last warmth of summer stubbornly hangs on. That hint of the coming bite of chill from October and November is thrilling.

My father owns many acres of wooded land– about 30 or so, I think– and it’s adjacent to some fields that his neighbors used to raise a few cattle at times. I used to climb over the fence separating the property lines when I was a young boy and lay out in those fields, staring up at the Autumn sky… listening to the gentle winds whisper through the trees… pretending like I was the only person on earth. It was beautiful. It was peaceful. I felt like anything was possible and that the world was endless at those times. I could be anyone or do anything I chose. I think perhaps that’s where the vague sense of sadness I get from this season comes from– perhaps my subconscious drifts back to those feelings of endless possibilities to remind me that so many of them are just unrealized echos.

My buddy JAMAR NICHOLAS is initiating what he’s calling JAMARATHON 2004!!! He’s taking on commissions all through the month of October– and a portion of the proceeds from those commissions will go to the AMERICAN DIABETES ASSOCIATION. You can get all the details about this and find out about Jamar himself on Jamar’s blog. Jamar’s a fantastic artist, a wonderful guy– and this is a great cause, so help the man out, ya’ll!!!

That’s it for today.

Mike