I try not to be a cynic. When the “fall color watch” is on the cover of the newspaper and local magazines run “top drives for fall colors” articles, I can’t help but think there must be something better to cover.
But maybe there isn’t. Don’t get me wrong. I can’t stand the manner in which many of those are written. However driving across the Mississippi River Bridge on 94 at 7:30 on Saturday morning reminded me that it is still possible to find wonder in this world. The banks were lit up by the morning sun and the trees glowed with yellow and orange hues. Luckily at that time of the day the road was empty so slowing down to 35 miles per hour didn’t cause an accident.
It also brought me back to the ritual of climbing the fire tower back in Side Lake every fall when the leaves were changing. Now up on the Iron Range there are a lot more pine trees so the colors aren’t as dramatic, but the opportunity to look out over the tops of the trees from the 108 foot tower and have no cities in view for miles drew us up there with every season change. The fence surrounding the base was topped with barbed wire and getting over that was always a trick and probably more of a challenge than a deterrent to 16 year olds. I think my name is still etched in the paint at the top.
If leaves changing color can elicit that sort of spiritual connection from a cynic, perhaps they are worthy of front page treatment.
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