Dear Editor,
I just read our paper... what a great issue!
Kathy [Gibboney], your article resonated deeply. I was autumn-born on Oct. 3, and grew up in Evanston, Ill. I knew in my bones, in my very cells what you were writing about. I, too, have to have fall. The acorns this year have been epic in number—that is my signal, not the passion flowers blooming or the third crop of apples that have just flowered. I detest fake flowers, but I admit to garlands of flame/orange/yellow fall leaves. I have raised “freeway sunflowers” for a long time. They are all from one plant I pulled off the side of the freeway years ago. There, they grow into scraggly, low plants. Here, with a tiny bit of water, they become giant stalks of profuse blossoms that appear in June and last until now. The cutting of the dried-out stalks is my fall ritual. Great, evocative article, Kathy!
Linda [Ballou], when I was a kid in the fifties, my mother won a trip to Colorado from Illinois. We went to the YMCA of the Rockies. Even then, they had the library, my favorite place at the camp. We took our own children every summer, and a LaBrot has hiked every one of those Rocky Mountain National Park trails, reveled in the hay ride with the big Belgians pulling the wagons, created most loved treasures in the arts/crafts rooms and spent lots of time reading books from the library. George and I were there last year at this time, our first trip after COVID. First thing I did was head to the library to find “my books.” It’s a wonderful journey you have chronicled and shared with us. Many thanks.
It’s such an honor to write among you all.
Love xoxoox,
Editor’s Note: These three women are valued contributors to The Canyon Chronicle. Kathie Gibboney has been writing her column, “My Corner of the Canyon,” starting with the Topanga Messenger; Travel writer and author Linda Ballou generously graces our newspaper with her tales of faraway places when she’s not writing or traveling; and Paula LaBrot keeps us informed about the many worlds of technology in her column, “All Things Connected.”
