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| Bewitching in the Kitchen |
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| Princesses Confer at the YMCA |
Halloween offers the delight of dressing up and pretending--but BEWARE: witch costumes are not designed for the kitchen. The large pointed hat clunks on the milk in the fridge. The flowing sleeves threaten immolation over the stove, and they are certain to emerge sudsy and wet in the face of dirty dishes. Only wear witch garb in the kitchen if you have a functioning wand.
The drawing instructor at the Senior Center dressed as a Hogwarts art teacher. ("I teach Hogwarts students to draw so realistically the paintings come alive and move and talk on their own.") She designed a lovely tall hat with black roses and feathers. The Silver Sneakers exercise class at the YMCA enjoyed a parade of fancifully garbed preschoolers who sang Happy Halloween to a tune of uncertain melody.
Since we can no longer indulge in the Halloween madness of sugar highs ourselves, in the evening Jesse and I enjoyed plopping handfuls of Tootsie Rolls and Dots into the pumpkins of little beggars. While they all chorused "Trick or Treat!" they were befuddled when asked, "What trick do you have to show me?" The children seemed surprised by all the candles burning on our Day of the Dead altar. Privately, before we blew out the candles and unplugged the jack o'lantern we asked God to bless all of our loved ones who have gone ahead.
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| Crime Scene: Tree Disarmed |
While Halloween Day was bright as a shiny penny, the streets were full of downed tree banches. On one corner a fractured light pole lay in in a a bed of leaves with its fixtures. Near the Senior Center huge trees were cordoned off with yellow tape. A few trees still flaunted their colors. This morning All Saints Day is grim as a funeral cortege, deranged limbs stark against the sky as we hunker down for another storm.
Since we can no longer indulge in the Halloween madness of sugar highs ourselves, in the evening Jesse and I enjoyed plopping handfuls of Tootsie Rolls and Dots into the pumpkins of little beggars. While they all chorused "Trick or Treat!" they were befuddled when asked, "What trick do you have to show me?" The children seemed surprised by all the candles burning on our Day of the Dead altar. Privately, before we blew out the candles and unplugged the jack o'lantern we asked God to bless all of our loved ones who have gone ahead.