I guess I’m too old for this now (or am I?), and nobody rakes leaves into piles in my neighborhood anyway: but among my happy memories of fall is the great big piles of leaves my father used to rake up in our yard, and how we used to play in them. I remember sitting in a pile of leaves with my friend, Ellen, up to our necks in autumn leaves, pretending we were Mr. and Mrs. Zacherley trying to decide which monsters to invite over for supper–Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, etc.
Our dog, Rags, just like the dogs in this video, liked nothing better than to dive headfirst into a heap of leaves. He was white with brown spots and a tail like an anteater’s: when he wagged that tail, it was like waving a flag. My father couldn’t help spoiling him.
This was fun! And it cost absolutely nothing. You didn’t need a coach, a sponsor, or a uniform. Just the leaves, and the trees didn’t charge you for them.