Autumn Run

So, we don't really have seasons in North Texas. We have summer, one perfect day in mid-October (which apparently I missed this week) and then mid-50s from then until about March, at which time it becomes summer again. We might get a two-day snap in which we get rain and sleet and generally cold blickiness, but nothing close to true seasons. Imagine how much in love I am with Boston this week, then, with these amazing trees in a billion shades between yellow and burgundy. And we're not even going to talk about the 200-year-old churches and town halls and the amazing architecture of these homes with huge front porches and expansive yards with brilliant green grass under the carpets of multi-colored leaves. Amazing. Yes, it was colder than a witch's teat yesterday, especially for me coming from 80+ degrees in Texas earlier this week, but today? Absolutely perfect.

So of course I had to ditch the hotel treadmill and hit the streets for a run after work today. We got done and I got back to the room just in time to catch the sun going down, so the out part of my run was in twilight, with the sun hitting the treetops just enough to seem to set them on fire. Once I turned around and headed back, it wasn't hard to imagine next week's trick-or-treaters bounding down the wide sidewalks in their costumes, bundled up with jackets and gloves, their breath rising like smoke from their lips. It was so storybook and vibrant, I was just enthralled. It's times like this that I am so glad to be a runner, to be able to experience the neighborhoods in the towns that I visit up close and personal, to be able to wave to the women on their evening walk, smile at the kids in their strollers and feel, if only for a while, like a part of the community. Way cool.

Gotta blast. A project pal is picking me up for dinner at some English pub in Framingham, then i've got a ridickerous early flight tomorrow AM. Peace out, folks!!