Last of Summer's Days

Summer is winding down. By informal tradition, summer has already since passed. It is after Labor Day after all. Counting summer from the solstice to the equinox, there are a few days still left. The season is changing. The warm days are still here, but there is much cold dew in the morning as well as a coolness in the air. The evenings and nights are cool. Tonight during a class break just a bit past seven in the evening, I went for a little walk on campus to stretch my legs. The sunset sky with all its varied hues was simply wonderful. A treat for the eyes. The colors strong and true with almost infinite variation and a subtlety that no painter's brush has yet captured. Had I a camera with me I'd have taken a few pictures. Unfortunately I don't think they would have done the scene justice. During those few minutes of peace while watching the setting sky, I thought about my wife and boys and how they would appreciate the scene. I also thought of my friends, both near and far, recent and long established, those who I keep in touch with and those to whom I've not spoken to in too long a while. Change of seasons always have me in a mixed nostalgic and slightly melancholy mood. It is the passing of time witnessed by the changes all around as inexorably the future continuously gives way to the present and the present becomes the past. I say a silent and heartfelt prayer for friends, family and myself that we all may have good fortune and health. If we are all just a little fortunate we'll glimpse a bit of unexpected everyday beauty, and gratefully enjoy the moments of bliss it brings.