Halloween memories

No trick or treaters tonight. Not too surprising since I live in a 10th floor apartment. I did party with my family on Saturday though so I'm not Halloween deprived. Over the years we've had a lot of fun Halloweens. But three especially come to mind.

I have a picture of my son in his first ever Halloween costume. He was the cutest bunny ever but looks a little overwhelmed by the whole process. He was three at the time.

We lived in south-eastern Ohio when our kids were about 6 and 8 years old.  We lived near a very small town, Norwich, and on Halloween the neighbor kids and ours were able to trick or treat through the whole town. The atmosphere was that of a fun old fashioned Halloween.

When our children were teens and older, my husband and I hosted a few Halloween parties over the years.  The one that stands out in my mind is the year my brother, who is 6 ft 6 inches tall, came dressed in a gorilla costume while his wife came dressed as a big game hunter. I didn't actually see this but we were told that as he drove across town in full costume to get to the party he got several startled looks from passing drivers. I bet. Sweet, strange memories seem appropriate for halloween.

The Cubs are still alive

Tonight was the first night I've had a chance to watch at least part of a World Series game this year and I picked a good one. When I flipped over to FOX after watching my don't miss Sunday night show, "Madam Secretary",  I was delighted to discover that the Cubs were in the lead, 3 - 2.  I watched the last three innings knowing that this one was do or die for the Cubs. It looked like it was cold in Chicago, fans were shivering in the stands, but at the end the Cubs' fans were feeling no pain. Of course they still need to win two more games to win this series but at least now they have a chance. I must say, if I have to feel tension while watching TV this is a much more fun way to do it than watching a presidential debate. GO CUBS!!!

National Candy Corn Day

Actually, according to my nifty calendar, tomorrow is National Candy Corn Day but I decided to tell you this evening so you could run out and stock up on candy corn. Truthfully I'm not very fond of candy corn. It's right down there on my list with jelly beans.  Now if it happened to be National Dove Dark Chocolate Day I would be fighting my way through the crowds at the candy counter.

the Common English Bible

We've been doing a comparison study on a relatively new translation of the Bible (2011) called the Common English Bible. I bought a copy and am finding it very readable. Of course part of the reason for that is that I bought a copy in a large print edition.  We've been learning a lot about how a new translation is researched and changes that have been made that I'm not sure I would have even notice if it hadn't been pointed out to me. One example is that this translation uses contractions which makes conversations sound much more natural. But I had never notice that other versions don't use contractions. One of the most interesting facts that was mentioned this past Sunday is the fact that when the King James version of the Bible was first published there were 25,000 words in the English language. Now we have over a million words. Isn't that interesting? I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  I know lots of new words have been added since I was a child. 'Google' is an example. When I was young I couldn't google or go on Google.  Of course we did have 'Barney Google and His Goo Goo Googly Eyes' one of the songs my mother used to sing to us. A classic, I'm sure you'll agree.

a really scary thought

I received a truly scary Halloween card in the mail yesterday. First let me say that it's exciting to get anything in the mail that isn't asking for money or offering to loan me money. On the front the card poses the question "What's the most horrifying thing about Halloween?" The answer inside "There are only 54 shopping days left until Christmas!" Now that's scary.

Some flashing lights are prettier than others.

I like Halloween lights and Christmas lights. They're usually very pretty. I do not like starting my car and having a bright light start flashing on my dashboard, especially when it's followed up by an informative sign flashing in front of my eyes telling me that the pressure is low in my right front tire. I got out and checked the tire and it looked and felt just like the other one so I made the drive I needed to make to pick up a granddaughter from school and take her ti the orthodontist  Of course the tire pressure symbol kept glowing at me for the entire drive. A few weeks ago the same symbol popped up on my dashboard with a sign that my tire pressure indicator did not seem to be functioning correctly. Which message do I believe?  I'm taking my car to the dealer tomorrow and I'll let a mechanic solve the mystery.

another debate and another election possibility

I watched the Governor candidates' debate this evening. Democratic Gregg, Republican Holcomb and I'm sorry but I don't remember the Libertarian candidate's name.  Much like the Senatorial debate I watched, they calmly answered questions about the issues without slinging insults.  At the end of the debate the moderator complimented all three of them on the "tone and civility" of the debate. Isn't it sad that polite, mature behavior even needs to be commented on? The debate didn't change my mind but, as I watched, I realized something. If I am in my second childhood (see an earlier blog) I'm probably too young to vote. Hummm???? I'll have to think about that.