in DM du Jour, a short piece on seasons changing

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FALL arrives hands in pockets of a brownish parka, a light scarf hanging loose and a pleasantly cool breeze coming our way. They smile at us — a polite, half-crescent thing of knowing. Summer’s come and gone and made a mess of things as always, be it with joy or regret, rush or boredom. It doesn’t matter. Fall gets it. They’ll take us to a cafe that still does outdoor tables and we won’t say no to a blankie over our shoulders. Fall will hang back and wait for us to initiate conversation. They will know when we’re mincing words or deflecting with humor. They’ll laugh, spontaneously and resting on a toothy grin. When the conversation has been winnowed away, they will pull out an interesting new book from their bag or an exhibition flyer. We’ll go into culture vulture mode, but only for a while — inevitably we…