Ding, dong!
Crazy Lady: Hello, children. Are you enjoying Halloween?
Kids: Trick-or-treat!
Crazy Lady: And, who will your parents be voting for on Tuesday?
Kids: Obama!
Crazy Lady: Then get off my lawn – no treats for you!
Some people are deranged. Get a life, woman!
Hope your Halloween didn’t end up like this!
Cemeteries are a part of Halloween, plain and simple. As a young woman, I was fascinated by tombstones. Whenever I travel, I walk through the cemeteries and make up stories about the people based on what is written on their headstones. Five years ago I went to Paris to celebrate a milestone birthday and spent an entire day walking through Père Lachaise Cemetery where I saw the tombs of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Abélard and Héloïse, Balzac, Isadora Duncan, Sarah Bernhardt, Proust and Piaf and so many more. It was a glorious day.
With that introduction, I wanted to share this headstone with you. You gotta love a woman with a sense of humor!
I think Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I suppose that is due to it being the one day each year where you can reinvent yourself and act silly.
I grew up in the country so trick-or-treating wasn’t easy. My folks would drive us around to the neighbors (but you’re talking neighbors who lived a mile away) so we could get a small amount of candy. One positive aspect was nearly everyone gave us full-sized candy bars because so few kids came to their doors. My cousins lived in the city and would simply go around the block and fill a gallon sized jug.
When I was about 13 or 14, I went trick-or-treating for the last time with a friend who lived in a subdivision close to town. We rang the bell at one house and a grumpy old man came to the door. At this man’s house I received the most memorable treat of a lifetime: a Goldwater for President pencil! At the time, I wasn’t too thrilled by the gesture, but this memory has stuck with me for many, many years.
I don’t recall any childhood costumes, but as a young woman in my 20s, I dressed up as a black cat for a job I had waitressing at The Denver Athletic Club. I was voted the winner, but had to decline the prize. It was a small baggie of drugs!
We can never predict how many trick-or-treaters will come knocking at our door. Some years we’ve had as few as 5 or 6 and other years we’ve had close to 50. The older I get, the less I want to have that much candy around the house, so every year I debate whether to buy candy or turn off the lights and hide in the basement. This year the weather will be warm and mild so kids will be able to wear costumes without coats. I bought 3 bags of candy today and we’ll answer the door until there are 5 pieces left.
Happy Halloween!
Halloween will be here before you know it. Whether you are an Obama or McCain supporter, you can find a pattern to carve the perfect lantern to decorate your front porch this year. Click on the graphic for more info.
