One of my favorite sitcoms is “That 70’s Show.” For those unversed, it follows the lives of six teens in the 1970s as they navigate coming of age. For those in a nostalgic mood, it’s all of those things we remember from our youth: rotary wall telephones, movies and drive-ins, shopping at the mall, a teen hangout spot and our almost un-ending obsession with beer.
Now, back in the late 70s, I was still in grade school. I wouldn’t begin coming of age until the mid-late 80s. Yes, I’m a part of that bubble-gum generation of truly terrible music and taste in clothes. What can I say? It was a self-absorbed time.
These days when I wax poetic, though, I think about the late 70s – and maybe early 80s – and the Church Street Gang. Now, we were grade schoolers and any moniker with “Church Street” in it ought to give you a clue. We were a ‘gang’ as in a group of kids, not a ‘gang’ in terms of ne’er-do-wells. In autumn, however, I REALLY think of the Church Street Gang and for one good reason: falling leaves.
In what I thought was a “huge” yard back then (we mowed an acre of grass), we had a side yard that featured five large maple trees. Every fall, it became ground zero for the Church Street Gang. We were relentless. As fall in the northeast largely ushers in cooler but dry, sunshine-filled days, we would rush home from school, finish homework as soon as we could and without the need to text or call each other, we met up in our side yard. Now, it wasn’t just the Church Street dwellers who were part of the Church Street Gang. Our little block in my tiny hometown was made up of Church Street, Patton Drive, North Street and Main Street. We had members of the gang who hailed from North Street and Main Street as well.
The leaf operation would begin when there were barely enough leaves to make a small outline of a house floorplan. That was enough to get us started. We would lay out our houses, making changes as we went, furiously scrambling for more leaves (they would be scarce at this time) and ensuring we had all the basics – kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, bedrooms. We were right-old mini architects. When the leaves got more plentiful, we could get more creative. Our models became 3-D with high walls and unique designs. A favorite game was to make a circular leaf maze with a “clubhouse” in the center. Then, when the rare car drove up or down the street, we would run furiously to scramble through the maze and get to our “safe” clubhouse.
Eventually, as a friend noted recently, my mom and dad would yield the rakes and push all of the leaves to the curb where – in those days – they would be burned in controlled fires. But even then it was noted that my mom wouldn’t begin her leaf burning operation until the leaves were ratty enough that we had stopped playing with them.
Today, our house is ringed on three sides by forest. It’s one of the things I love most about the house in summer. It feels incredibly private in our backyard and you can even wander a little up in our mature forest if you need a little nature. But when my new yard reminds me of Church Street? Oh, that would be about now. In October, when the leaves start to blow off the tree, the ground gets covered. It’s not unusual to clean up leaves one late afternoon and wake up the next morning to leaf cover that is ankle deep. It can be both frustrating and incredibly enchanting all at the same time.
As I begin this process of early retirement, one of the things I’m most looking forward to in this season of my life is to, well, enjoy the seasons. All of the times I couldn’t slow down to find the beauty in the everyday, I can do now. As I do, I find that I’m enjoying even the work or the “bad parts” that come with each season. I’m loving the cool mornings and I’m not dreading the leaf pickup ritual, which will become almost daily when it’s at its peak. Looking forward, I’m even okay with snow this year – which is certainly aided by the fact that we’re in a Super El Nino year and it should be more mild.
I am also loving the connection that enjoying the seasons is bringing me back to my past. I hadn’t thought of the Church Street Gang for years. It just wasn’t a part of my everyday anymore. But when a friend brought it up in a group chat, it struck me as part of the reason why I love autumn so much.
Ultimately, I feel like all of this discovery (or perhaps rediscovery) is part of early retirement, when everything feels new but familiar at the same time. I’m looking forward to seeing what the true holiday season brings and even the doldrums of winter brings. For all that I dreamed about these days, experiencing them is a whole other level.
