Autumn rites have already begun

August is over. The rites of autumn have begun. Yes, I know that fall doesn't officially arrive until Sept. 22. However, it takes time to wrap up the summer and get ready for the rest of the year.

The annual exchange of odds and ends has been completed. The garage sale sign is still in my yard, even though it belongs to someone else. I’m hoping it is gone soon. All the old and not-so-old engines and tractors are either on their way to another show or back to wherever they call home. Golf carts are still out and about so we need to be careful not to run over them.

My brother, Michael, usually finds something rusty to take home from the Tri-State Antique Engine and Tractor Show. I don’t know if he did this time or not as we had him stop and visit us on his way to the fairgrounds instead of after.

Once again, I didn’t have to shop for something that was discontinued decades ago. Mom’s birthday was August 31. She thought that anything that had ever been created was still available, and the more obscure it was the better. I tried my best to find whatever it was. Most of the time I succeeded.

It seems like yesterday that I was taking Mom to visit her life-long friend, Martha. That was her birthday present that year. We had gotten pulled over for speeding because it had been years since I had driven that road. I knew the speed limit changed but not where. I honestly looked for the speed limit sign and never saw it. Mom kept saying I was going to jail and she was going to be left by the side of the road. We got by with a verbal warning and were sent on our way. It made for a good story when we got to Martha’s house. Martha died a few months after our visit. It is rare to have a life-long friendship like they did. Mom and Martha were friends from birth to death. I like to think they resumed their friendship in heaven.

There are other rites of autumn. Time is growing short to finish outdoor projects. There is painting to be done before the weather changes. There is at least one flowerbed that needs a complete overhaul. The garden also needs attention. Chores multiply as energy decreases.

In normal years we would send our children to school with the expectation that they would be safe. It used to be that our children were afraid of bullies or a teacher who hated them. Although school shootings seem to be dwindling, the virus has taken up the slack. We send our children off to learn as much as they can before they are sent home to ride out the sickness that could be mild or deadly.

I think the virus needs to be renamed. Instead of “the novel virus COVID-19” maybe we could call it “Lex Luthor, archenemy of us all.” That might highlight the seriousness of it. The scientists could be the equivalent of Superman as they search for a way to control the madness.

There are many rites of autumn. Each year the rites are unique. Some years they concentrate on the outside of our dwellings, other years it is our children and their safety that tops the list. For me, the Tri-State show is a reminder that summer won’t last forever and that it won’t be long before the air conditioner is shut off for the year and the furnace turned on. We are not there yet.

The rites of autumn have begun even if autumn itself has not.