Sandy “not-the-super-storm” Corsillo. AKA @the_dusky. The other half of The Hill-Side and Hickoree’s. Another Corsillo I am so fond of. One of the greatest guys around. Happy to present my pal Sandy Corsillo’s nostalgia-tinged Fall Three.

“As I get older the change of seasons seems to have less and less of an impact on me. I live near my office which is semi-climate controlled. There are no trees around to watch change. No raking, shoveling, Mowing etc. The getting dark early thing is noticeable, and sucks, but not as much as when I was young. When all I wanted to do was be outside skateboarding or whatever. So the things that I do notice are often related to my childhood. Its the nostalgia I notice more than the actual things in my current life. These are the three things that are “bringing me back” this year.”
-The Dusky.

1) Golf: I started playing again in earnest this year. Probably played 40+ rounds and loved every minute of it. But it has been the rounds I’ve played lately that have been the most memorable. There’s something almost heart aching about walking down the 14th hole while the sun sets. The course has a deserted feel as the sound of leaves blowing across the fairway take on a dark an almost cinematic quality. The cold starts to become noticeable and as I begin to pick up my pace, thinking less about my score than the distance I need to walk to get to the clubhouse before dark. In these moments I’m brought back to my fall evenings in Connecticut. I’m too far from home and its too late and the excitement of being on my own turns to nervousness and a little fear. So I run, and by the time I’m home I’m sweating and hot and cold at the same time and nothing can be better than the blast of heat as I open the front door and feel truly safe. When a round of golf turns into a childhood walk through the woods I feel truly content.

2) Dates: Spring and summer are about freedom for me — partying and sex. Fall and winter are about dating and cuddling… and also sex. Going on dates while its cold out brings me back to the early days. Sneaking out of the movie theatre my parents just dropped me off at so I could walk to the nearby park and kiss the girl who’s 10PM calls have made the start of another long school year bearable. The cold creeping in and the early darkness bring a nervousness back that the warm long nights of summer made seem impossible. And I want to share those nights.

3) Road Sodas: Those who know me know that I prefer canned beer to wine, and a brown bag to a stein. Drinking outdoors is always better than indoors . In the summer that’s easy — it takes dedication in the fall. But beer never tastes as good as when its too cold to hold in your bare hand. When it is not allowed. Road sodas for me are about the danger. Like when my best friend and I hid a 30 pack in the woods for two week so we could sneak out of his house after his parents went to sleep. We met up with a group of girls, by the gazebo, at exactly 12:30. (no cell phones back then). The beer was skunked and freezing cold and we all shivered as we played “never have I ever” in the moonlight. That night my buddy and I rode our bikes home drunk and when we got there the lights were on and we were in soooo much trouble. But before my parents were called, before the worst hangover ever, out in the night, shivering and buzzed, we were free in a way we had never been before.