it used to be

                                                   Pilgrims and Pies 

The tree line has been painted

The cornfields all laid bare

the wind holds a crispness

fall is in the air

Pumpkins peer from patches

gourds stand their ground

mums remain silent

severed corn stalks gathered 'round

Hale bales form a fortress

against the graying skies

the time is fast approaching

for pumpkins and for pies

Autumn comes in brightly

But soon the trees are bare

green and brown the only colors

left remaining there

So come on fall and lead us

we must follow where you go

onward to the winter

and the falling snow.  (A.B.Reichart) 

   Written some time back it is that time of year once again. The pumpkin has surely taken the lead in recent years. Pumpkin spice, pumpkin latte's , pumpkin and more pumpkin. The pilgrims are being relegated to the past, their deeds not spoken of. The stories I was told in my childhood mostly fiction, but held words of promise. They were tales of perseverance, hardship and faith. The struggle to live free. Visions of tall black hats, shiny buckles and witches too. The children of today being told quite a different account of all that, if they are told at all. 

  Fall is the lead up to Thanksgiving. That is how I have always thought about that. It was back to school, Halloween and Thanksgiving. That is fall. I would hear some folks calling it Autumn. I just figured that was a fancy way of saying fall, used by those that wanted you to believe they were somehow smarter than you. Turns out that is just what is more commonly said in merry old England. To the English, it is Autumn, to Americans, fall. Fall makes more sense as those leaves do fall and so it seems the obvious description for the season. 

  On Thanksgiving day we celebrated all things Pilgrim related. We had that traditional feast. But it was on Thanksgiving day, at the end of the Macy's parade that old St. Nick made his first appearance. At least that is the way it was when I was growing up on Long Island. I can't say what it was like for others in different parts of the country. I'm thinking about the late 50's early 60's. Yes, we had television, two channels as a matter of fact. It's true that we didn't have cable television, it was an antenna but our stations were just across the sound, in Connecticut. Did the kids in the mid-west see the Macy's parade? I just don't know. Well, when Santa Claus appeared, it was winter as far as I was concerned. Bring on the snow and Christmas.

  A lot has changed over the years in regard to history and the telling of it. Today we are insisting upon the stark truth, the reality of the situation. What I was told was all a lie. Today it isn't a time for celebrating, it is a time for apologizing. Oh, we can still celebrate by having our pumpkin spice but we have to "acknowledge" all the injustices of the past while doing so. The prayers are to be kept silent. Today the only thanks we should be giving are to the Native Americans that saved our bacon. Without their help, we would have all died. A different story indeed. Well, we all enjoy our memories, the traditions we embraced as children with our families. It will be no different for the current generation. Then they will write the stories of, what used to be.