"October"

The third quarter is now in the books. Year-to-date has been troubling globally, rancorous politically, and not good for financial markets. The DJIA is down 18.7%, the S&P 500 down 24.8% and the NASDAQ down 32.4%. It is possible the fourth quarter may see a snap-back rally, but the picture does not look great, (though I hasten to add the future is always unpredictable). But inflation remains stubborn; price-earnings multiples are still high, at least historically; interest rates, which have backed up as bond prices have fallen, remain high relative to inflation, and an inverted yield curve (the Ten-year at 3.83% versus the Two-year at 4.27%) is often seen as a precursor of recession. Global tensions are high, at a time when, economically, the world is increasingly interdependent. The annexation of eastern provinces in Ukraine by Russia, and the verbal threat of tactical nuclear weapons by Putin have not eased tensions.

 

Nevertheless, we live in the times we do, and. Looking back on history, most of the Western world should be thankful for when, where, and how we live. This short essay is a diversion from real world troubles, at least it was for me as I wrote it over the past month. I hope it will be for you.

 

Sydney M. Williams

 

Essays from Essex

“October”

                                                                                                 October –

                                                                                                                     Cool nights

Tales of Ghouls

Orange foliage

Baseball’s world series

Eating apples

Raking Leaves

 

October 1, 2022 

 

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.

It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November.”

                                                                                                                             Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942)

                                                                                                                             Anne of Green Gables, 1908

 

My maternal grandparents were born in October – he on the first of the month in 1878 and she, ten years later, on the 30^th. They were married on October 9, 1907. For their 25^th wedding anniversary my mother wrote “Ode to October,” a pictorial poem, which celebrated their years together. Our 6^th grandchild, Margaret, was born on October 6, 2003. The framed ode now hangs in her bedroom.

 

October transitions hot summer days to cold winter nights. Growing up in New Hampshire, most Octobers included a few days of what we called “Indian Summer,” unseasonably warm weather after the first frost. It is a month loved by New England’s inn keepers, as leaf peepers travel to view the foliage – God’s parting gift, when summer packs up to allow winter’s return.

 

The month evokes memories: of rolling in leaves and, later, of tailgating at football games and listening to baseball’s final games and, even later, of watching our sons’ row in Head races on the Charles, the Schuylkill, and the Connecticut, and now, seeing the finish of grandchildren’s cross-country races and watching their lacrosse games. It was not just on the playing fields of Eton where leadership was born. 

 

October is the month when leaves turn color and fall to the ground, letting their summer’s hosts conserve energy through the upcoming winter. It is the time when many mammals, amphibians and reptiles hibernate. Their heartbeats and breathing slow and body temperatures drop, to survive long, cold months. 

 

Like all months, October is filled with history. On October 1, 1908, Henry Ford introduced a car for the masses – the Model T. Forty-one years later, Mao Zedong founded the People’s Republic of China. On October 31, 1940, the Battle of Britain concluded, a battle that inspired Churchill to utter his famous line: “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” October 31 is when we celebrate Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, the date in the Christian liturgical calendar dedicated to remembering the deceased, especially the saints (hallows).

 

In an unpredictable world – What will be the consequences of high inflation and rising interest rates? Which Party will hold Congress on January 1? Will the war in Ukraine intensify? – there is comfort in the predictable succession of seasons and months.

 

October is a time to celebrate our passage through winter, spring, and summer. It is a month of cool nights and warm days, a time when glorious colors adorn deciduous trees. But it is also a time when we experience shorter days and longer nights. Robert Frost, in “October,”[1]expressed our desire to hold back the ever-earlier setting sun: “Retard the sun with gentle mist;/Enchant the land with amethyst. /Slow, slow!” 

 

As we age, time moves with increasing velocity. We sympathize with Frost’s sentiment: We should slow down and absorb the scents of Autumn. Longer days will return after winter’s rest.

 

May the month bring peace and joy.