Thinking back to my childhood, I can’t recall a Halloween that wasn’t cold, rainy, or both. There were always children going door-to-door with their flimsy costumes covered up by their heavy outerwear. By the end of the night, they were snot-nosed from the cold, sugared-out little creatures not fit to be around.
Today has been cold and wet, with a fine continual rain and temperature hovering around 47 °F. So, of course we took advantage of the day to restock the larder. The price of food becomes ever more outrageous. We will have a roast chicken tonight with sweet potato for Gloria and an Idaho baker for me.
Another Halloween customary occurrence was the late evening arrival of van loads of children from the outlying rural surrounds at the door of urban dwellers. They younger ones were more-or-less shepherded it by their older siblings and cousins. In Palmetto, we knew it was time to turn off the lights when the people arriving with their hands out were teens and young adults who didn’t even bother with pretence of costuming.
Now we live in the rural surrounds. No lights will be left on; no one will park at the end of the driveway and send their progeny down the long dark driveway to beg candy from the “Yankees who don’t go to our church.” There are no sidewalks on our road, no streetlights, and I’m not even crazy enough to walk that road at night.
Have a safe trip into town, folks! Bundle up well and have a barf bag ready for the ones who gobble too much chocolate. That theobromine can really upset some stomachs.
Hope your church parties do a good job at keeping the children’s minds from turning to sin and witchery. Don’t let them practice any of the old folk tale divinations. Did you hear about how to see whom you will marry? You need a shovel, some coals from the fireplace and …
Shabbat Shalom
No comments:
Post a Comment