Time Warp & Halloween

Life as a magazine writer is such that I often find myself writing about holidays months ahead of their actual occurrence. Today, for example, I roughed out my humor column for the Florida family magazine I write for. The article is due Nov. 8th but will appear in their Jan/Feb. issue. Hence, references to "recovering from the holidays" and the "already broken promises of the 8-hour old New Year" appear.

It lends a touch of surrealism to life. I'm typically writing about Christmas in August, Halloween in June, and March is a good time to talk up the 4th of July.  I have to wonder if it sets me back, talking about already broken New Years Eve's vows in October--kind of a self-fullfilling prophecy type thing.

Blair's downstairs right now, setting up for Trick-or-Treat for tomorrow night. Sadly, we had to scrap our plans for a recreation of Sleepy Hollow. Our intent was to build a psedo-bridge, record horse hooves eerily clip-cloping in the background, carve leering faces  into at least 3 pumpkins, and then I would dress as Ichabod Crane and Blair as the Headless Horseman. Kids would have to run through the tunnel and survive an attack by the Horseman in order to win their candy (Quit your whining--there are no freebies in life).

But time ran out on us. We had guests this weekend, Blair had hoped to take a 1/2 day on Tuesday and that doesn't look like it's going to happen, and I'm hoping to find time tomorrow to carve one pumpkin, let alone three. So instead we're reviving the popular 1999 theme of "Evil Witch & PumpkinHead Man." We've got the fog machine rigged and ready to blow out "smoke" from beneath the black witches cauldron and Blair poses as a stuffed-looking "fake" scarecrow that scares kids when he comes to life and roars at them.

I spoke with a woman this week who is taking her son to a church "trunk-or-treat." It's in the early evening and only "nice" costumes are allowed.

Poor little bugger. Has no idea of the fun he's missing.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!