Scarlet Passion, A November Love Story

Oh, my love, my darling, I hunger for your touch . . .

It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. It is almost mid-November now, but it had the feel of a full-on summer's day. We all found excuses to go outside.

I had a meeting in downtown State College in the afternoon, and I took my camera along, as is my custom. I managed to get there 15 minutes early so that before my meeting, I could swing by the duck pond and the alumni center gardens to check out what was new.

Just as I suspected, the turtles were out on the sunny rock on the duck pond, enjoying the day. A young man napped on a wooden bench by the white gazebo. There were coeds everywhere, hanging out on the Old Main lawn. There was still some color on the trees and the sky was blue.

And then I attended my meeting. And after it, I somehow managed to take the wrong exit, which dumped me out of the building onto the wrong side of the street. But what an unexpected treat was waiting for me there: this scarlet beauty caught my eye!

It is something I want to explain to you: the autumn here, and how it is, this pageant of trees, this transformation of color, and how it makes you feel. You can be walking along and there is no color on the trees at all, and then suddenly you round a corner and - BOOM! - there it is.

A tree that takes your breath away. A tree that makes you fall in love in an instant. A tree that, if it were in your own yard, you'd never be able to go anywhere, because you'd have to just sit beneath it soaking up its magic till all the colors fall and are done. "I'm sorry; I can't come in to work today. You see, there's this tree . . . "

And so, as with any new love affair, you become obsessed. You find excuses to stay with such a tree, to drive by it, to admire it, to adore it from near and far. When you are not with it, you long to be.

You might even be tempted to take pictures of it every day, just so you have something to remember it by after all of the leaves fall. And when they do, you are devastated. Until next year . . . when it starts all over again . . .

The only song that will do for this photo is a love song. And this is one of my favorites. It captures love and loss and longing in a way that almost no other love song can do. The song is Unchained Melody, which was covered by a lot of performers. I'm including a bunch of versions that I like, and you are welcome to listen to whichever one strikes your fancy. :-)

Unchained Melody . . . by The Righteous Brothers, Elvis Presley, Heart, U2, Sarah McLachlan, Cyndi Lauper, Roy Orbison, LeAnn Rimes, Susan Boyle, Air Supply, Neil Diamond, and Waylon Jennings.