Been reading 'round the blog-sphere (my little corner of it, anyway) that Halloween is lame. That's lame.There are some things about Halloween that have deteriorated over the years that may be behind that notion, though.
Like when the scariest monsters turned out to be the strangers with candy.
Or when our collective imaginations became so jaded and atrophied by endless exposure to bad movies that we forgot the fun of designing and making our own costumes. Those were always the best.
And when the calculated horror in those movies that drew entirely upon those imaginations was replaced by mere gore -- which to me is much more nauseating than frightening. Not what I'm going for.
It takes a lot more time (and, frankly, intelligence) to draw us in, disarm us, then scare us to death with the bump in the night. Not seeing what's out there is far more scary than seeing. At least for those of us blessed with a vivid imagination.
I always enjoy Jorge Garcia's blog (Dispatches from the Island). He is a true Halloween afficionado, and for all the right reasons. He decorates, dresses up and carves the coolest pumpkins ever...and shares it all with his readers. I love his character (Hurley) on Lost -- one of the more complex characters in the plot IMHO, but I love reading the real guy's posts even more -- especially 'round Halloween.
So I will follow Jorge's blog, enjoy the Travel channel's tours of scary places, watch a well-crafted horror movie or two (Silence of the Lambs scared me a heckuva lot more than any Saw movie ever could -- The Shining is another), wish I had a costume party to go to (or a kid to dress up), and enjoy my candy corn for one more week.
What do you think of Halloween, dear reader? (And I know that there's just the one of you -- maybe two on a good day).
11 comments:
OK, I confess that I have been in the Halloween is lame category. Well, lame isn't my word, just too much effort I guess. It was never a favorite holiday - I remember sore feet walking all over the neighborhood for what always seemed like an inadquate haul, and feeling let down when the candy was gone.
Then as a mom, it was fun for a while dressing up the kids and taking them visiting. Then they got old enough to want to walk the neighborhood and get as much candy as possible, and the sore feet returned. I remember trying to be creative and fun with decorations. I ripped up an old flannel white sheet and made dozens of little ghosts to hang from our cherry tree in the front yard. I made a scarecrow. I dug out the old fashioned paper decorations from the basement and arranged them around the house. I helped at the school parties. I left the pumpkin carving to my husband who seems to have more dexterity with a knife.
When the girls got old enough to stop trick or treating, I was relieved. When the pumpkin and scarecrow contests start up at work, I sit out. When everyone brings in their leftover candy to share, I grumble about the calories and struggle to resist.
Still I enjoy seeing the enthusiasm of others for a holiday that means more to them than it does to me. I enjoy the time of year and the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot. I enjoy creative decorations, not the LAME huge blow up things people put in their yards. I enjoy the little ones knocking on my door, hepped up on sugar and the excitement of the day.
And I enjoy Jorge Garcia. Off to check his latest dispatch!
I just told my husband today that i sort of hate the expectancy of Halloween like i hate Valentine's Day. Obligatory stuff is not my favorite thing.
I feel obligated to be home to answer the door because i don't like thinking little kids would knock on it and i won't be here.
And i have a few favorite kids who, over the years, come and i make them special bags of stuff with their name on it. It's not as many as there used to be though.
I always give out WAY too much candy. Because i don't want to have any left over that i will end up eating.
I don't like big kids trick or treating. But i certainly am not brave enough to kick them off my porch with nothing. It's is after all TRICK or treat. I don't want any tricks. I also don't like the expectant feeling that the doorbell will ring once it's past 8:30 pm. To me it's over by then. But then you worry that the bold ass who would knock on your door at 9 pm might just be the one to toss your jack-o-lantern at your door.
My husband did carve a really super cool pumpkin for us a couple of nights ago. i do really love a good jack-o-lantern.
I don't like dress up costume parties mainly because i never can think of anything. I tend to like the scary costumes more than the creative ones anyway. to me Halloween should be scary. Like Sarah Palin. I'm sure that's a popular one this year. And Kate from Jon and Kate is probably another good scary one.
So yeah some of it like. and some of it i don't.
pearl, i posted an old photo of me dressed up on halloween with melanie when she was two on my blog. check it out and you will laugh!
pearl, hint about blogging: you should come back and post behind your original post about what amazing wonderful things we contribute in order to keep the blog going and then add some more stuff to it. (And that's me talking, not Arianna.)
as one of the yaya's used to say:
"i'm just sayin'"
But that would be pandering, wouldn't it?
Plus, I've been on the road all week. Sitting on Delta 1626 out of PBI at the moment. It's all I can do to get on and read it. Typing etc is too hard.
But that would be pandering, wouldn't it?
Plus, I've been on the road all week. Sitting on Delta 1626 out of PBI at the moment. It's all I can do to get on and read it. Typing etc is too hard.
Ok, what is wrong with pandering? I think that is what what eque and i do to get more comments, but i think of it as nurturing the blog and keeping it moving.
I post on a few blogs and I know that when i post on a blog and the author never comes back to even let me know he/she read it or to comment about what i wrote, i feel like it's one-sided and i don't feel the urge to check in as often. Also, especially if it doesn't move that often.
OK, more Halloween stuff. So i went to Costco tonight and i bought a bottle of really good wine to drink tomorrow while giving out the damn candy AND i bought a 150 piece bag of the BEST Halloween candy and i think last year i only got 12 kids. So you do the math for me and get back to me how much i have to give out so i have NOTHING left over. However, it's an algebraic formulas. Because there are three kids i love who should get 33% of the bag all by to themselves. The rest will be divided amongst the other little hoods.
I just told Brian, under NO circumstances was he to open that giant bag of Costco candy. Did i mention that it includes: Reeses, Snickers, M&Ms and i think Butterfingers are in there too. All the best stuff. I did a survey last year of the kids who came to the door and asked them what was their favorite candy to receive. And all of the ones i asked said Reeses. Maybe one said Snickers. But Reeses was the huge favorite.
Since Bud does the bulk grocery shopping, he buys the Halloween candy, so it's all Snickers/Reeses/Twix -- and almost all gone already!!
But we've accepted a party invite (not costume, more the pity) so other than his expanding girth, it's all good. We only had 8 trick or treaters last year anyway. And I turn out the front lights and roll down the lanai wall around 8pm, to avoid the older "kids" -- most of whom don't even bother to dress up, the little twits.
Eque -- I peaked in on Facebook a couple of times while in FL and saw that picture of you there too. I wish I could find a photo of my cat suit. Very similar, except for the pregnant belly (missing in my case!)
My sister and her friends in ATL gave the best Halloween costume parties. I always made her outfit -- Pierouette one year and a pregnant yuppy nun were my favorite. She also wore scrubs and a fake beard and went as Dr C Everett Koop (surgeon general at the time) one year, handing out condoms all night.
As far as I know I don't have any "followers" -- but then I don't know how to even tell. I'd probably just be disappointed.
I don't see Halloween as a made up holiday like Valentines or Mother's Day at all. The origins of Halloween go back centuries and are fascinating. That has always drawn me to it -- at times in a darker way -- but always academically, of course.
I think you have to add a "widget" on your blog page for people to opt in as followers. I'd do it!
and you now have more comments on this post than i've had on my last several. of course it's just the 3 of us kabitzin', as usual, but i enjoy that just fine! ;-)
i have been importing my blogger blog onto my wordpress blog periodically. this week i got an email to approve a comment on the wordpress one (it has a tendency toward spam). it was from the japan post where i talked about the forest on mount fuji where people wander in and get lost to take their own lives. someone from a suicide prevention organization in japan wanted to post with links and phone numbers to resources. i thought that was pretty cool!
Chris bought a 12 pack or so of full sized hershey's, kit kat's and reese's to give out. I handed out the last one about half an hour ago and turned out the light.
have to remember to turn the clocks back!
Halloween is not lame...it has purpose. When I was a kid I loved it..not so much for eating the candy but the dressing up- no store bought costumes for us..we had to made do with what we had at home!
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