ralph read the note twice , put it back on the table with the rock on top to weight it down for the next old crock to happen along , then simply stood there with his hands in his pockets and his head down , gazing out at runway 3 from beneath the bushy tangle of his brows , a crisp leaf , orange as one of the halloween pumpkins which would soon decorate the street , came flipping down from the deep blue sky and landed in his sparse hair .