Singleton said 'strange' month of October stirs feelings for adventure

George Buster Singleton

(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere in Time.” The column below, which was titled “October is autumn’s month for vagabonds,” was originally published in the Oct. 17, 1992 edition of The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)

October, the tenth month of the calendar, got its name from the Latin word “eight.”

The Roman Senate tried to name the month “Antoninus” after a Roman emperor, and “Faustinus” after his wife. They also tried to name it “Tacinus” for a Roman historian, but all these failed. The people continued to call it October. Since the time of Julius Caesar, it has had 31 days.

October has been named the strange month. Throughout history, man has experienced strange feelings during this month. Looking back through the faded and little known history of the gypsy, October was the most important month of the year.

This was the month to change the location of the camps. Never was it known that a gypsy tent ever stood in one place during the complete month of October. This was the time to move. The feeling was in the autumn air; it was in their blood to gather their things and seek new territory. Many today witness and experience this same feeling.

Truly, there is something that rides the cool winds of October that brings on a change in man that affects his ability to stay attached to various places and people.

Many famous people were born during the month of October. I could fill several pages with the names and the outstanding events that took place during this month. Many of the great battles of past wars took place within the tenth month, and many of the wayward vagabonds left their homes and security to venture forth during the lazy days of October, never to return.

This is also the month of great change – the time of harvest, when all the work of the year is reaped; the time when the great flights of wild geese start journeying southward to warmer climate; the time when great games of competition are brought to an end. It is the time when many wild flowers are at the height of beauty. And it is a time of story-telling. All stories during the month of October take on a special meaning.

In searching the calendar, we will find several days of this month are celebrated holidays. Our country was discovered by Columbus this month in 1492. And, within our own county, the great explorer DeSoto crossed the river and moved inward into what is now Monroe County on Oct. 12, 1540.

The government, along with state government, starts its fiscal year during October, making estimates of the amount of money needed to operate during the next 12 months.

We try to look into the future months and predict our economic status – will it be a year of plenty or tightened belts?

But let us look for a moment into our minds. I cannot speak for everyone, but I can feel a change in myself. Call it a change of body chemistry or whatever.

As I look back on my past and reminisce, I realize that most decisions of great importance in my life were made during October – the month of change. Always, the great desire to travel comes upon me during this time.

As a small boy, my father noticed this change within me. He also stated that he too was somewhat affected. As I have said before, I have had the opportunity to travel greatly during my military career. Almost all my travels to other countries began during October.

I find myself wanting to see what’s on the other side of the hill. It doesn’t matter if I have been to a given place many times; I have the urge to return. During this time of year, my reading habits change. I watch very little television, but this changes also.

I feel myself becoming an adventurer; I have been told I become a vagabond of sorts. My parents used to jokingly tell me that there baby son got mixed up with other babies at a gypsy camp and I was mistakenly picked up and carried home.

If you experience some of these feelings that I have mentioned, don’t be alarmed; remember, you are just human. The feelings are there. Somewhere in time, man recognized this desire to wander and make changes. Perhaps the lines of a little-known poet say it best:

There is something in October

That sets the gypsy blood astir;

We must rise and follow her.

When from every hill and flame

She calls and calls every vagabond by name.

So, when the distant hills beckon and the desire to leave everything behind comes over you, don’t be alarmed. It is part of the plan; maybe not understood, but part of the plan.

(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime resident of Monroeville, he was born on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County and served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from 1964 to 1987. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)