i just finished watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, on ABC. fall just isn't the same without hearing about "the great pumpkin" and seeing charlie brown's ghost costume that had about 27 eyeholes. why is that?

i'm beginning to be able to admit to myself how much of a sap i am, and how much these things mean to me. just sitting there watching that show brought me back to elementary school, when october 1st was a big day because halloween was coming. the weeks d r a g g e d on, yet time for coming up with a decent idea for a costume was running out. season changes here in soCal are terribly minor, but trees do bronze in color and the occasional chilly breeze blows the afternoon aside during our version of "fall." during that half hour in front of the TV, i felt all those things, and was hit with a flurry of memories.

i remembered being tired from walking endless blocks and coming home with a sore wrist from carrying a pillowcase full of loot. i remember coming home exhausted, most of whatever costume that i wore nearly fallen off, and the first order of business was to dump all my treats out on my bedroom floor to see how i had fared (as if i'd forgotten what was watched being thrown in just minutes before). the next morning was all about discovering how many pumpkins were self-destructed on the city streets, as i carefully maneuvered my bike amongst the shrapnel. and that week was all about trading candy, and getting away with eating it during class.

that's only a slice of what went thru my head tonite, but enough for here. however, i had another, more recent memory: just last year, when i couldn't watch the special show (it wasn't broadcast on east asian TV), and i lived in another very different country. the fall was colder, no trick-or-treating exists, but friendships were born. friendships and times that i have grown to miss recently. i've realized i long to go back. and though it looks like i'll be doing just that in about 9 months, time has begun to   d r a g   once again.