She Said ~
The electricity, excitement and tension in the air is palpable. The colorful crisp Fall leaves disintegrate beneath our determined steps. Giggles, laughter and merriment is carried in the breeze from house to house and neighborhood to neighborhood.
Surprises of the bewildering, funny, scary and unexpected variety greet us at every turn. Thriller, Monster Mash and This is Halloween trickle out of Little Boxes, houses. A knock, thump or ringing of a doorbell is met with SUGAR, sweets! In exchange, a chorus of Trick or Treat is echoed.
The visitors to the front door only come once a year. These ghosts, gobblins, witches, monsters, superheroes, dead and living dolls have only one thing in mind- the sticky, ticky-tacky, sour, sweet and chocolatey CANDY!
This is Halloween!
Forever embedded in my mind are the masks that clung, slipped and slid across my sometimes-sweaty face because of the will of an elastic band. The handmade costumes, last minute decisions and weighted baskets too.
I can still hear the careful recounting of my treasures, morning after stories and deals wheeled and dealt with classmates and friends. And yes, words like cavities, dentist and moderation were heard, with a lower volume by me.
John Dryden Said ~
O ’tis a fearful thing to be no more;
Or if to be, to wander after death;
To walk as Spirits do, in Brakes all day;
And when the darkness comes
to glide in paths
That lead to graves: and in the silent Vault,
Where lyes your own pale shrowd,
to hover o’er it,
Striving to enter your forbidden Corps;
And often, often, vainly breathe your Ghost
Into your lifeless lips.
The Monster (from Frankenstein) Said ~
“I could not understand why men who knew all about good and evil could hate and kill each other.”
Edgar A. P. Said ~
“Years of love have been forgot
In the hatred of a minute…”
“I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.”
“All suffering originates from craving, from attachment, from desire.”
The Simpsons added ~
Narrator: Quoth the raven…
Raven: Eat my shorts!
Homer: D’oh!
Jack O’Lantern Said ~
Legend has it that Stingy Jack invited the devil to have a drink with him, but Jack didn’t want to pay for the drink, so he convinced the devil to turn himself into a coin. Instead of buying the drink, he pocketed the coin and kept it close to a silver cross in his house, preventing the devil from taking shape again.
He promised to let the devil go as long as he would leave Jack alone for a year — and that if Jack died, the devil wouldn’t claim his soul.
After a year, Jack tricked the devil again to leave him alone and not claim his soul. When Jack died, God didn’t want such a conniving person in heaven and the devil, true to his word, would not allow him into hell.
Jack was sent off into the night with only a burning coal to light his path. He placed the coal inside a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the earth ever since.
Did You Know? Mary Shelley’s original novel does not give the character a specific name. In the novel, Victor Frankenstein variously refers to his creation as the “creature,” “fiend,” “demon,” “wretch,” “devil,” “thing,” “being,” and “ogre.”
& remember, our next Podcast Airs Election Day (11.5.24)!! The new link will be in our next newsletter (11.6.24).