When the words “Autumnal Equinox” appear on the calendar they send a little chill through the heart as well as the body. Labor Day is one thing, but this is official. Summer is over. It should be more dramatic. But only the weather changes. When we were in the south of France two autumns ago, everything changed. The visitors and tourists went home. The roads north were jammed with millions of sun-worshippers, returning reluctantly to their damp and chilly everyday lives. Restaurants and shops cut down on their hours, or closed entirely. It was a true autumn – not just a date on the calendar but an economic, spiritual and social transformation. It must be much the same in the Hamptons or any seasonal resort that has this chameleon character – in season and out of season. But, for most of us out here in the suburbs of the temperate zone, autumn is a season of denial. A few sunbirds flutter off in the direction of Florida, unable or unwilling to face meteorological reality, but the rest