Thinking Pumpkins

Pumpkins
Simsbury, CT

After residing in Texas for most of my adult life, I find it amusing to think about how my home town was near everything. When you are from Connecticut, everything is nearby or at least within a hundred miles. By contrast, in Texas,we measure distance in hours, in Connecticut and the rest of New England, distance is only discussed in miles. If I travel from one side of Fort Worth to other side of Dallas, I just might have traversed the whole state of Connecticut.

It's all about perspective and your personal frame of reference. It's not uncommon for a driver in Texas to put on annual miles in excess of 15,000 to 20,0000 miles per year. We have an expansive state with diverse Texas accents and pretty homogenous landscapes. It is flat with an occasional bump called a hill. Mountains are something you find in El Paso on your way to New Mexico. Hills you might find South of Tyler and to the south and west of Austin.

It goes without saying why then I still have this romantic obsession with New England and the northeast this time of the year. I enjoy and miss the colorful landscapes and topography of my home state. So in the fall, I start thinking pumpkins and shorter days and cooler frost laden mornings all over again. It an annual thing for me. I have missed this ever since I left for college in 'the fall of '74. 

Leaving New England was not really a choice for me it was an exodus. It was something I had to do. The economy and my disdain for the overcast of winter forced me into exile. Nonetheless, I will always confess my allegiance to New England's autumn.

In just a few weeks, I will be back home. I am eager to capture more images from where I grew up and the things that still influence how I see the world. It's a romance that's been separated by years of distance but I have never stopped loving. The flame embers are still are alive and each year they are fanned by the advance of autumn.