I am old enough to remember when fall was different than it is now.
And I’m not talking about 1982-1988 when I experienced Central Florida fall, which is indiscernible from summer. I’m not even talking about the last 23 years when our family has called the greater metropolitan Lilburn area home. I’m talking about my lifetime, a span of roughly 50 years or so.
In that time, fall, or for you truly erudite readers, autumn, has become something different.
As I wrote hilariously in this space way back in 2023, there is much dispute about when fall actually begins. If you’ve been a loyal reader of New South Essays since it launched in 2011, you will already know that I strive to be seasonally appropriate in the topics I address. But if you’re a newer reader, and I know you are out there (WordPress tells me my stats are “booming” because I’ve had three subscribers in the last two weeks!), this week’s essay can serve as a marker that fall (autumn) is here (finally).
I’m prepared today to describe what fall used to be like back in olden times. Like a 10th grade English term paper, I will “compare and contrast” the old fall with this here new fall. See if it holds true for you:
Old fall
First frost. Gardeners and Weather Channel fans alike used to revel in this moment. Those who grew vegetables (what we used to call “farmers”) liked to time the winterizing of their gardens perfectly so as to maximize production before freezing temperatures killed everything. Those who liked flowers or potted plants paid attention to this time because that’s when they brought their plant babies indoors to keep them alive all winter long. The appeal to the meteorologically inclined is obvious. The first frost of fall makes a great conversation starter with the cashier when you check out at the Krogers.
Raking leaves. I know this used to be a thing because I have a shed full of implements with either metal or plastic tines at the end of a 48 to 72-inch wooden or extruded plastic rod. At some point in the past, I purchased three of these tools because I believed that by having three boys, I had somehow grown my own yardworking crew, and they would help me clear the yard of the year’s foliage detritus. In their defense, they did help a few times, but they mostly just played around in the leaf piles. Don’t we all miss this back-breaking and shoulder inflaming chore?
Sweaters. This moment used to be as important to the fashionistas as the freezing point was to the gardeners. Back in the day, you brought out your sweaters, let them air out a minute, and began wearing them in fall. They were useful in that they provided a layer of insulation against cooler temperatures. Or, if you were Mr. Rogers, it signaled that you were home from a busy day at the office.
Pumpkin spice lattes. Again with the pumpkin spice latte, I know, but it is a convenient target for observational humorists such as the New South Essayist. But here’s something you may not remember: these concoctions used to be served hot in the former days. You drank them from paper cups with those cardboard cylinders wrapped around them to protect your fingers from getting burned and coffee shops from getting sued. They also used to cost less than a gallon of gas does today. I know, that’s just crazy talk.
Competitive football games. There was a time when you knew it was fall because there would be marquee college football matchups on the TV to entertain us and give us an excuse to procrastinate raking leaves. Two teams of relatively equal stature would play each other, alternating between each schools’ home stadium over a two year period. These games would be highly entertaining and the players even wore pads that covered their knees. (For the record, I know I sound super old.)
High school marching band. I threw this one in for funsies. It’s just for me. This time of year, my Facebook Memories serves up daily content that reminds me how much time I spent in high school football stadiums from 2015 to 2022 on Friday nights and all-day on Saturdays. Scheduling around my older boys’ performances was a challenge I embraced, and I loved seeing them do what they loved. The sound of a drumline still quickens my pulse.
New fall
First day under 90 degrees. The celebratory meteorological moment now isn’t the first frost, it’s the first time the high temperature for the day doesn’t exceed 90. We’ve become so conditioned to the heat that we find ourselves saying, “My, there’s a nip in the air… it feels like fall,” when the temperature is 81. Frost is the furthest thing from our minds at that point. What is frost? We will never shiver again. We’re just happy for less sweat.
Blowing leaves. Here’s the advantage of raking leaves: it’s much quieter. Here in new fall, we’ve got leaf blowers to generate sound pollution and degenerate our hearing. Oh, yeah, they’re fun, sure, but the sore back and shoulders are replaced with stiff arms and sweaty backs from either carrying or wearing your leaf blower around your yard while you blow your fallen foliage into your neighbor’s yard, or, even better, the street, which is legally known as “no man’s land.”
Short sleeves. For every sweater worn in old fall, new fall has a short sleeved comparable garment. I find each year I am wearing linen and seersucker shirts on dates I previously would wear a sporty cardigan (wait, is there such a thing?) My Darling Beloved does not approve of these choices on account of the well-known fact that some fabrics are for spring and summer and some are for fall and winter. It’s hard for me to keep up. I barely know enough to avoid wearing white past Labor Day.
Iced pumpkin spice latte. The pumpkin spice lattes are still very much around, they’re just served over ice, because of course they are. Only us olds are out here drinking hot drinks when the temps haven’t dipped below 90 yet. I have been informed by the Internet that pumpkin spice is still extremely popular, but this year, caramel apple is making huge gains. There may come a day when the courage of men fail, when we forsake our friends, break all bonds of fellowship and pumpkin spice is replaced by caramel apple as the signature flavor and scent of fall, but today is not that day. We just put that pumpkin on ice and keep on drinking it.
Non-competitive football games with unfair matchups. I will concede that there are a smattering of big-time matchups that are played in neutral locations between traditional powers the first weeks of the college football season, but they stand out because they are the exception to the rule. More typically we have the big boys beating up on the smaller schools, posting huge offensive outputs while giving their punching bag opponents fat paychecks. It’s just not fun to watch.
Friday nights at home and free Saturdays. I do miss band stuff, as I recently wrote about in this space, but I am learning to embrace the contemplative life of falling asleep at 7:38 p.m. while reading on a Friday night. Or, just as likely, I am having the pleasure of explaining who the main character is in a TV show we’ve binged three seasons of because my Darling Beloved is “dual screening” and only half paying attention. This is our new reality. I love it for all you band parents out there still doing it, and be encouraged because the 90-degree, muggy nights will soon give way if that first frost ever hits.
So there you have it, the definitive old fall vs. new fall breakdown. Please don’t be mistaken: I’m not passing judgment on new fall. I’m just noticing the differences. Some of these are specific to my life, but I’m willing to bet you’ve noticed a few changes in the past 20 years yourself.
Perhaps you’d like to leave a comment below and share them? Please do. (Let’s put the social back in social media.)
Here’s hoping as you embrace new fall, there’s enough of the old fall sprinkled in to supply you with good memories.
