Cool winds, warm cider, hot boots and and the crunch of dry leaves….autumn is my favorite time of year. Nestled between the scorch of summer and the chill of wintertime, the season offers a brief respite before the madness of the holiday season and the sharper focus we need for the upcoming New Year.

But what also comes around during the fall? Beginnings: school classes resume, sports teams assemble. And sometimes, minds and hearts and could use a new beginning too, with some clarity to boot. In the 2000 blockbuster hit film, The Original Kings of Comedy, actor and comedian Cedric The Entertainer
described balancing his life with the “C’Mon Dawg” folks, friends and family who never hesitate to keep it real with him when necessary no matter how rich and famous he becomes. If he ever comes home with a gold-rimmed bedroom slippers: “For real? C’mon dawg…..” A pet chinchilla on a leash? “Cedric, look…..c’mon dawg….” Nothing wrong with someone caring enough about you to keep it real,right?

Well, from the looks of what’s been happening lately, more people in and out of the public eye need to adopt Cedric’s stance….maybe they just don’t know it yet. There are ways to determine who’s in need of some ‘c’mon dawg,’ signs such as….

…..harassing a complete stranger, following him to his apartment and being arrogant enough to demand he show you proof of residence, then being surprised that your ignorance goes viral and gets you fired from your job (Hilary Mueller).

…..making calls to law enforcement while boating because whales have the audacity to swim nearby. That’s right, calling 911 on wild animals as you invade their space (Darren Lucianna).

….publicly ridiculing and threatening sexual assault survivors for telling their truths and simultaneously demanding, ‘why didn’t you speak up sooner?’

……despite the proven and abysmal trial and conviction rates for sexual assault crimes, claiming to be frightened for your sons getting randomly accused of attacking people instead of teaching them about boundaries and consent.

…….rambling to the press while in the White House that the MAGA hat feels like a superhero cape and that your masculinity felt threatened when a woman ran for President of the United States (Kanye West).

……telling a radio audience that being married to a black woman would save Kanye, but forgetting you walked women down red carpets with chains on their necks on live TV while married to your own black wife (Snoop Dogg).

…….torpedoing your television comeback and hundreds of jobs with a racist tweet, then complaining about how the network reconfigured the plot and should have overlooked your ‘mistake’ (Roseanne Barr).

…….stating that your most national platform is cyberbullying, yet admonishing sexual assault survivors to ‘have hard evidence’ or stay quiet (Melania Trump).

…..reneging on pledges to charity and promises to release documents and insulting others in constant fits of petty on social media (Pres. Trump).

Everyone has an occasional slip of the tongue or random faux paux, but if examples like these sound normal, reasonable and are a part of everyday life, maybe some self-reflection is in order. And if someone close to you cares enough to check your program and suggest a change, without or without prefacing it with ‘c’mon dawg….’ consider yourself blessed.

In nature, autumn is a time to restore and repair. Hopefully, as some of us are airing out our wardrobes, we’re re-examining—-and in some cases, re-configuring—what fits and flatters…..or needs to be trashed for good.