AUTUMN, THE 1ST WEEK

1. In Miami we have no fall. As in the north, leaves don't turn into an explosion of colors. But we have a very wet season: beginning September we have an increased amount of rainfall, and if it's our luck one hurricane will at least make a landfall. Which means this time of the year, in Miami we have fall.

2. I got new books. There's a certain hint of gloom in the air that makes up for a perfect moment of reading, and the bookstores probably try to capitalize on this phenomena by bringing up a fall (!) in prizes. With 30% discount, I got "13 Moons" and "The Inheritance of Loss" from Borders, my favorite neighborhood bookstore. I also started reading Philip Roth's "The Human Stain" and John Cheever's "Bullet Park".

3. Or maybe it's just me; I feel the gloom.

4. Nights are getting longer. The temperature is beginning to drop. Humidity is dissipating. Who needs an explosion of colors?

5. There are other great things I like about fall: the good movies are coming out, and come November, The Miami International Book Fair!

6. "I saw old Autumn in the misty morn
Stand shadowless like silence, listening
To silence." Thomas Hood, Ode: Autumn.

7. That's fall, folks.