AUTUMNAL NOSTALGIA
FROM THE EDITOR
AUTUMNAL NOSTALGIA
Fall is officially here. That means a return to earlier sunsets, cooler nights and everything being pumpkin flavored. Soon the leaves will turn and it’ ll be time to cozy up.
Anyone who knows me knows I am a lover of fall things. I am a Halloween girl through and through. I delight in the spooks and thrills of the season. I dream of caramel apples and help myself to them more than I care to admit. I plan the family costumes and work the details in anticipation for the big trick-or-treat trek. I marvel in the weird and unseen magic of All Hallow’ s Eve and I enjoy the chance I am afforded to be a kid again on one night each year.
My preference for fall isn’ t central to the Halloween magic though. I enjoy the cool, crisp air on my cheeks and the crunch of the leaves under my feet. I drink warm apple cider and friendship tea year round as I wait for the autumn months to draw closer. I relish them even more when the chill sets in and I need something to warm my bones. I pride myself on finding new and even cozier sweaters to add to my already overflowing closet.
The-ber months – September, October, November, December – elicit something deep within me. The feeling leaves me longing for home. I become more aware of it as the smell of autumn – the scent of familiarity, of nostalgia – settles in. It triggers a desire, an ache for comfort within me. This“ autumnal ache” and the longing for something familiar and comforting leads me directly to the theme for this edition of Duncan Magazine: Fall time and Vintage Vibes.
It wasn’ t too hard to put our story list together either. As we were in the planning stages, it seemed like there had been a resurgance in all things described as antique or vintage in Stephens County. Vintage clothing stores were opening, antique stores seem easier to come by and more and more people are returning to vinyl for their music consumption.
Why do you think that is? Sure, collectors are out there. A lot of people are getting into the flipping business when it comes to their thrifting conquests. But when we look below the surface, I wonder if it might be that a lot of us – especially us millenials and those in the younger generations –
CHARLENE BELEW
are seeking some sort of comfort we associate with our childhood? Maybe we just need something familiar to reconnect us with our past – which seems to have so quickly faded in the buzz of everyday life – to remind us where we come from. Maybe it’ s because we just want to feel connected in a deeper sense to those who came before us. Maybe it is none of those things. Maybe it is all of them.
Whether you’ re like me and your fall feelings are overwhelmingly longing, or whether you’ re just looking to reminisce and take a walk down memory lane, here’ s a challenge for you: Visit Mr. B’ s Cigars on Main Street Duncan. Stop in Trendy Treasures. Find your way to Miles & Miles Vintage Clothing Store. Then, cruise on to Mud Creek Creations in Comanche. Take a look at On the Flipside. Book some time to learn the tile techniques of Mahjong. Wrap it all up and time travel the moment you step foot in the relaxing Zeke’ s Second Story Lounge.
I’ m sure everyone will find at least one thing for them. Treasures of the past and the feelings they unlock are just waiting to be discovered. What will yours tell you?
Come back and share. I’ m curious what you’ ll come across.
Charlene Belew, Managing Editor