Have a Favorite Season?

I Wonder What Our Favorites in Life Say About Us

Pick a Season

I had the pleasure last week of attending a concert built around Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. A fine choice for a concert, of course (those Italians are pretty good at this stuff). As I listened to the music, I thought, as I often do when hearing this collection, about my favorite season, and that of others.

For me, it’s Fall – no contest. No other season even comes close. The crispness, the color, that dynamic bridge that takes us away from the heat of Summer and pleasures us before the cold of Winter. We lived in Northern California for a while and one of the things I loved most was our area felt like Fall almost all year.

The area did not offer the colors of Fall year round, but always had that crispness that invigorates and leads one to think about a cocktail by the fireplace at day’s end. We also lived in Hawaii for several years. A delightful place for sure, but we sorely missed seasons, especially Fall.

Now that we are learning that trees actually communicate with each in a surprisingly complex way, I have a new idea about Fall. I imagine that as the season approaches, trees are thinking, “Boy, am I sleepy. I am going to put on the brightest, jazziest pajamas I have and get ready for a long nap.”

Then, just before Winter arrives, those same trees have a change of plans: “Aw, to heck with it. I’m going to sleep nekkid,” and all the leaves fall off.

At this point the evergreens are thinking,” Geez, not again with the nakedness! It’s so embarrassing. What’s wrong with those hardwoods?”

OK, not my most scientific thinking, but it sounds right to me.

How About the Other Seasons?

I am always curious as to what seasons people prefer and why. All four have their beauty – one reason we chose to live where we do today is its four very distinct seasons. People from Florida seem mortally fearful of freezing in Winter, while snow bunny types hate to come inside in the Winter. Gardeners love Spring and don’t mind all that rain and unpredictable weather. Those who long for time at the beach eagerly await the first heat of Summer. To each their own.

Other Choices?

Thinking about preferences for seasons makes me wonder about other preferences we all have. I have long wondered if the collection of our favorites in life says anything about who we are, how we think and react. Could understanding such choices help us better understand each other? Might this  make it easier to predict how one feels about other things?

I bet that is the case, but it is something way out of my league in understanding psychology. My studies sort of ran out just after mood rings. But its an interesting theory that sounds logical.

How About You?

Have a little fun by listing your own preferences, as many as you can think about. Look at that list and see if you detect any sort of patterns. Think about people you know and where they stand on these choices. Do people with very different choices also come across as different in personality or effectiveness or other traits?

Hey, if nothing else, this could provide some conversation filler if you, like many, find yourself sitting around a table at Thanksgiving with people you only see once a year and for some of them, that is about one time too many. Yeah, we all have a couple of those, don’t we?

A Starter List

Here are a few to start your own list. You can, of course like everything on such a list, but you likely have at least some preference to one or the other. Let us know what you would add to a preferences list:

• Favorite Season
• Salt or Pepper
• Early Bird or Night Owl
• Sweet or Sour
• Savory or Spicy
• Movies or live theater
• Classical or other music
• Laid back or energetic
• Democrat or Those Other Folks or None of the Above
• Smooth surfaces or textured
• Favorite scent (as in flowers or a wood fire)
• Dramas or comedies
• Fiction or nonfiction
• Romantic or action scenes
• Dogs or cats
• Turkey or side dishes
• Live or artificial holiday trees
• Sleep on your side or on your back
• Indoors or outdoors
• Airplanes or trains
• Religion or agnosticism/atheism

You get the idea. Enjoy getting to know yourself a bit more and comparing list results with others. At least you might find something new to argue about with others over what is “best.”

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Despite all the world’s troubles, we have so much to be thankful for, most of us. Good to remind ourselves of that, often. And as Art Buchwald wrote many years ago, it’s the one day of the year Americans eat better than the French.

Bill Clontz (& Bonnie)

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