An interesting day...

It was beautiful today. It started out kind of dreary, but then the sun came out and there was that wonderful October interplay between light and shadow that I love so well. The trees are in the midst of changing color, and that reminds me of one of my favorite films - The Sterile Cuckoo. A wonderful vignette on a college romance. I won't necessarily recommend it because I'm not sure that's the way life is anymore, but for its time, it rang true. One of those movies that's actually better than the book it was based on; it helped establish Liza Minnelli as a star long before the alcohol, drugs and weird marriages took over the image and the talent. It has its moments of charm, thoughtfulness and accuracy, (at least for those times between say, 1964 and 1977).
At any rate, one of my favorite scenes shows the young lovers appreciating a day much like today and admiring the autumn colors. The boy comments on the beauty of the leaves, and Liza's character mentions that they're pretty because they're dying. That always struck me, and I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that statement. I've a sneaky suspicion I'll be grappling with it until the moment hits when the great dark descends. An intriguing observation that's stuck with me 30+ years, and I am reminded of it each Autumn. So here's to October, at the end of which the membrane between life and death is at its thinnest. And here's to its beauty and the darkness behind.