Tuesday, November 01, 2005

THE END OF THE TRICKS AND TREATS

It ended last night when the doorbell rang at 9:30- six hours before my wake-up time.  It was the last doorbell of an era.


No more Halloween at this house.  I am sorry to say that the once-fun practice of dressing up and going door-to-door for treats has ended.  For good. 

For us baby boomers, it was a fun thing to do.  It was elementary school-age fun.   Costumes were seldom store-bought.  The best we could usually manage was a hobo, a ghost (made from an old sheet), or a cowboy or princess.   It was simple.  The little ones are still cute as ladybugs, princesses, and spider-men.  

But last night, kids old enough to drive themselves door-to-door were ringing my doorbell.  They had a peck of candy...at least ten bucks worth of loot, and enough sugar to send Dumbo the elephant into a three week sugar high.  I have an idea for the older kids:  Get a job and buy your own candy!

And then there is the dark side of Halloween. It wasn't considered years ago, but now there are sinister connotations. One kid- about ten years old told me he was the magician from The Dark Side- a comment that tells me he is hearing that kind of talk from somewhere- and I don't think it's Sunday School.

Churches have tried to combat the day with "trunk or treat" or similar programs.  I say forget it.  What would be wrong with saying that Halloween is a day when dark forces are celebrated, and we simply don't do that?  

In Atlanta, a convicted sex offender was running one of those "haunted houses".  Outside of the presentations by various churches, we are not sure exactly what our kids might see in a place designed to scare the daylights out of you.

There are real monsters out there.  And call me backward believing Bible Belt ignorant if you want to...but I believe when we start fooling around with demons, and messing with the dark side, we might be tickling the tail of a dragon that is better left alone.

Dress up. Eat all the candy corn you want. Say "boo" to each other.  But next year, it will be on your dime, mom and dad. 


As for me and my house...
Posted by Dave Foulk at 21:41:01 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) |

STANDING IN THE WIND TO PROVE IT'S A HURRICANE

It appears NBC weatherman Al Roker is catching some criticism of his antics during the latest hurricane, when he was knocked down by the high wind. He defends his actions, and goes on to imply that some other journalists are simply jealous. Here is a copy of an e-mail I sent him:

Twice, I have reported live from the middle of a deadly gun battle. Both times, I happened to find myself caught in the crossfire. I have been in other dangerous places. Once I was trying to get natural sound of a C-5B cargo plane, and the jet wash knocked me down and tumbled me about a hundred feet along the ground.


But when I covered hurricanes on the Georgia and South Carolina coast, I knew it was going to be bad, and had sense to get inside a shelter during the worst part of it. The real story is not what is happening outside. The real story is the fear and worry that is happening inside shelters while the wind is raging. And to tell you the truth, I didn’t see any of that during any hurricane coverage this season.


Did you?

Posted by Dave Foulk at 21:15:08 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |