Be ready, boomers, we're heading back to Fall '73: when leaves crunched louder, sweaters were thicker, and Saturday mornings came with a side of Schoolhouse Rock!
This was the autumn of pumpkin faces, outside walks, and thermoses full of Campbell’s soup. Nixon was still in office (barely), bell bottoms ruled the sidewalks, and David Cassidy was breaking hearts coast to coast. Kids raked leaves into massive piles just to jump in. No iPads, just grass stains and joy. Halloween costumes came in sweaty plastic, apple cider tasted like real apples, and your mom's meatloaf was actually good (or was it?).
This was fall before pumpkin spice invaded everything, when cinnamon lived in coffee cake, not your deodorant. So throw on your chunky cardigan, dust off that Polaroid, and let’s dive into a nostalgic slideshow that smells like burning leaves and sounds like a Seals & Crofts record.
1
Majoring in Vibes, Minoring in Philosophy
Bubble-blowing between lectures. Peace signs and papers due. And something revolutionary in the air.
2
Couch Couture
You know it’s love when you match your sweaters... and your sarcasm.
3
Solo Dance, Full Audience of Trees
She didn’t need applause. The wind clapped for her.
4
This Tree Knows Things
That yellow wasn’t just a color. It was a feeling.
5
Lecture Ended. Philosophy Continued.
Campus hallways were just warm-ups for late-night debates over too much coffee.
6
Ivy, Ideas, and Identity
Everyone had a notebook. Few had a plan. But fall made you believe something big was coming.
7
Porch Guardian of Gourdkind
You weren’t a real ‘70s kid unless you had one foot in Halloween and the other in mischief.
8
Autumn Was Better Outside
Every leaf on the sidewalk wanted to be part of their conversation.
9
Keys in Hand, Head in the Clouds
That half-second before ignition, where anything could happen, and sometimes did.
10
Pumpkin Patch Power Move
You didn’t just pick a pumpkin. You auditioned them.
11
Top Down, Hearts Up
When your car doubled as your clubhouse and the sky was the only rule.
12
Mood Ring Energy
Her bedspread had more colors than a Crayola box. Her dog understood every secret.
13
Driveway Daydreams
She wasn’t posing. She was waiting for the soundtrack to kick in.
14
Two Girls. Four Crushes. One Lava Lamp.
Bedroom walls saw more secrets than diaries ever did. And no one ever knocked.
15
Autumn Was the Real Professor
You didn’t just walk to class, you wandered through an orange cathedral.
16
Trick-or-Treat or Be Judged
Costumes made from pillowcases and cardboard. Moms in curls. And a Tupperware bowl waiting back home to hold your loot.
17
A Rose for the Ghosts of Summers Past
Her expression says she’s listening to a song no one else can hear and it’s a little sad, but mostly beautiful.
18
Street Style, But Make It Domestic
They look like they just stepped out of a coffee commercial. And we all believed in that kind of love.
19
Vinyl and Burnt Orange Vibes
She’s about to drop the needle like it’s the last track before winter.
20
Where Every Street Sounded Like Crunch
Rakes were optional. Wonder was mandatory.
21
Exit Stage Garage
She’s not going to the store. She’s going into the third act of her own movie.
22
The Field is Her Runway
The coat said Penny Lane. The walk said: “Get out of my frame.”
23
Bell Bottoms, Big Mood
If your pants didn’t threaten to sweep the sidewalk, were you even living?
24
1973’s Answer to Instagram
No filter. No app. Just a stare that could melt polyester.
25
Windbreaker Warriors
Jackets slightly too big. Bikes slightly too small. And a wind that whispered: “Go.”
26
The Pre-Candy Power Stroll
You and your best friend. A plastic mask that made it hard to breathe. Destiny at the next doorstep.
27
Suburban Still Life with Deciduous Drama
A house. A tree. A car that smelled like cigarettes and new leather. This was peak American fall.
28
Leaf It There. It Looks Cool.
Cars weren’t just transportation. They were autumn canvases and no one swept the art away.
29
Freedom in Flares
Back when running through leaves counted as cardio, and the only screen time was your dad’s storm window.
30
Certified Pumpkin King of ’73
He didn’t carve the pumpkin. He communed with it. That grin says: “I’m one with the gourd.”
