500 Day of Autumn

"PSL10."  It was noticeably visible on the door as I walked into the local Starbucks today.  Of course, as we live in the age of the hash tag, I was obligated to investigate the meaning of this code.  The Google quickly led me to the Starbucks website, which then opened up a whole new world of previously unknown knowledge about PSL10.  For starters, did you know that "PSL" stands for "Pumpkin Spice Latte?"  And did you know that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is ten years old?  That's right, a seasonal Starbucks beverage has a birthday.  Giving something a birthday is a pretty consequential decision, don't you think?  It means that the Pumpkin Spice Latte was born.  It has Life!  Ten years of it, to be exact.

Anyway, the Starbucks website goes on to describe the Pumpkin Spice Latte's stats--calories and crap like that--and then sets forth its lore.  "The Pumpkin Spice Latte is a fall favorite!" the website declares.  "It's the drink for which you yearn during the non-fall months; the warm treat that stands tall above all the others.  Bow down to this herald of The Fall!  Drink upon this magnificent concoction of unmistakable spices!  Drink!  Drink it up!!!  And be happy that it's fall, you motherfuckers."

Ok, it doesn't actually say that, but I still took offense to it.  It got me all riled up that some asshole had the nerve to declare that the Pumpkin Spice Latte was the best thing about fall; that we all put up with the bullshit of the rest of the year because we know there's a piping hot venti Pumpkin Spice Latte waiting there for us in late September.  Well, you know what?!??!?!

I disagree. 

Now that Summer has passed the seasonal torch to her auburn sister, I am relishing the cool weather, the leaves changing color (a very vibrant "Southern California Brown"), and the afternoon light taking on the mysterious hues of the ever-shortening day.  Autumn is about so much more than a beverage.  It's a state of being.  It's about crisp weather, apple cider, scarves, football, bundling up, Santa Ana winds, Halloween, family time, Thanksgiving, fireplaces, leaf piles, getting cozy, hot cocoa, leaves changing colors, playoff baseball.  More things than there are words for.  I guess it's stupid to let a silly little ad campaign upset me--perhaps more evidence that I'm turning into an old curmudgeon--but the whole thing felt a bit cheap.  And not just cheap, but an affront to many childhood memories formed amidst the swirling winds of playground asphalt.

It's funny how our minds associate things.  Objectively, Autumn is a season of sadness.  It signals the end of the vibrancy of summer and serves as a cold, unrelenting bridge to Winter.  The days get shorter, the nights longer, and the weather colder.  Miserable in all respects.  And yet, events in my life have conspired to associate many happy memories with Autumn.  I guess it's not such a bad thing.  Summer may encapsulate the party that is the human existence, but Autumn is the intimate after party.  The space in between the hot, loud, crowded moment of the night club and the cold, lonely journey of the Hangover.  The night cap.  The winding down.  I guess that says something about me (something that won't be unpacked here).  But in any case, I'm happy as a clam that Autumn is once again upon us.  PSL10 and all.

--KM

"Halloween parades through Autumn.  Australian Bora Bora [stump]."