Autumn Daydream

High School Daydream
Winsted, CT

Some who remember me in high school thought of me as a serious student.  Few knew that I was a daydreamer.  Autumn brought it out most in me.  In fact, I was caught red handed staring at the hillside beneath our school by my English teacher, Elaine Fortuna.  She was merciful in her reproach and smiled the whole way while she brought my attention back to the subject of the day.

I am grateful that she didn't discourage my dreaming.  She knew I was enamored by the fall colors.  They were spectacular then and even more so in the dreams I have had since remembering them.  She caught a glimpse of my real nature.  She knew I was more artistic and creative than even I knew.  Instead of snuffing it, she let me bask in all the colors that I could view through my window perch.

That day the hillside was ablaze with color.  It's hard to write about something like this unless you've actually witnessed it.  She let me witness it.  Today, I write:  "the hillsides were ablaze with color.  It was a natural fire of color that only heavy winds, frost, and the onset of winter could extinguish."

My pilgrimage back to my home town afforded me the opportunity to reminisce and to enjoy what I've missed every year since I left.  Although it was thirty-six years ago, the memories are as real as yesterday.  The hillside remains ablaze in my mind.