I used to live in the Washington DC area, and every year I would look forward to the "IN" and "OUT" list that would appear in the Style Section of The Washington Post (TWP). Here it was, for those not savvy or self-assured enough to know instinctively, what was going to be THE thing to wear, eat, think, do, and avoid in the New Year to achieve maximum personal and professional success. Out went the old books, food, clothes, phrases, electronics, etc., and it was a frenzied trip to the mall to stock up and be "IN" as quickly as possible. How great it felt to have a visitor to your home glance at the coffee table and comment, "Oh, you're reading the latest book from Blah, Blah." You could then nod your head and smile smugly to yourself, knowing you haven't even leafed through the table of contents. The "List" had done its job, positioned you, like that crisp unread book on the coffee table, as one of the "IN" crowd. At least among those who also read the list. Or who cared about the list.
This year's List is interesting. I was surprised to hear that "drinking like Mad Men (the TV show) is now IN. I was a young secretary during that era, and I witnessed first hand what that was like. Vodka gimlets for lunch. The cut crystal liquor carafes in the office, which made it easy (and even acceptable) to have a drink during a meeting or casual discussion in the bosses office. I wonder how long it will take MADD to remind TWP about the statistics on alcoholism, drinking and driving and the AMA about liver disease.
I'm a little surprised at "vampire rights" as IN. I haven't heard many news reports on vampires protesting or marching to relieve unjust oppression. I am glad that boyfriend jeans are now IN, since they are way more comfortable than those designer, pencil thin, show your muffin top and more jeans that I see (not bigger than a size 2). I wonder when "Mom" jeans will come back in vogue? 20011?
I'm sorry to see that Fuji apples are now OUT, replaced by Honeycrisp. I really like Fuji, and though I risk being labled an old fuddy-duddy, I will continue to buy them and eat them. So there, TWP. They are just too good to pass up.
Finally the list found out what all us mothers in the 60's new...pots and pans in the bottom cabinets or drawers in the kitchen were THE best toys for toddlers. Organic toys are OUT, you young mothers. The problem is, a lot of moms don't cook, since the kids diet consists of frozen chicken fingers, microwaved macaroni and cheese, or something out of a box or bag, handed to them from a drive-thru window. I wonder if this listing will trigger a buying run on Calphalon (has to be designer for the young X and Yers). I can just see them texting Williams Sonoma to send the deluxe set NOW --- Tiffany or Dylan, the little darlings, are getting cranky!
The list goes on and on. I'm not going Goth, nor will I begin to wear white piping. To be honest, I don't even know what half the stuff was on the OUT list, or what the stuff was to replace it with on the IN list. Who cares. How much is driven by marketing, advertisers, and the desire to motivate people to spend, spend, spend. The desire to be IN -- in the know, "in with the IN crowd," in step, in front of the crowd. These basic desires lie behind the success of these lists. They also serve those of us who want to stand out, be different. It can be viewed as a list to avoid for 2009. Find what fits for you without the list for the Herd. Stand out. Be different. Be yourself. That's my mantra for 2009.
So much for that. I just noticed that it's already seven days into the new year. I have to get to the mall! Have a great day!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Looking ahead to 2009
Here it is, the 30th of December. Time to reflect on 2008, almost "the past" and look forward to 2009. A new year, fresh start, new book with clean pages, clean slate...all those cliches that we buy into that give us hope that this next year, things will be different, better different.
On December 31, I pull out the envelope where I put last year's the New Year's Resolutions, open them up, and see how I did. Hmmmm. As I read the list, I am at times disappointed, amused, bewildered, angry, and resigned. Sometimes, one has actually been achieved. I'm a much better resolver than completer. That doesn't deter me from repeating the exercise for the next year. Undeterred, and always optomistic, I begin again. One year, after not making progress on a single item, I merely crossed out the year at the top of the page and put in the next year.
I always make New Years Resolutions. December 31, I take out the yellow legal pad (great expectations) and begin. #1 is always a repeat (except for 1997), "lose 20 lbs.) Then follows a litany of great expectations, such as "write book, remember everyone's birthday with card or call, make $1 million, be on 'Oprah" with new book, etc.)
One thing about making resolutions, is that making them isn't the thing. They say writing things down make them more likely to be achieved, like goals. I have found that writing them is helpful, but actually DOING them is what makes the difference. I learned the same thing over many years of buying the latest diet books when they hit the market. Buying the books isn't the key. Knowing what to do and why it works (or doesn't) to take off the pounds isn't enough. Actually cutting those calories, getting off your butt and walking or working out is what makes the numbers on the scale decrease. Knowing all the "secrets" and "surefire tips" to losing weight isn't enough. You do much better by putting knowledge to action. 1997 was proof of that...actually lost those 20 lbs!
This year, I'm going to add something to my resolutions. A start date, and a completion date. I'm going to take my own advice (that I give to my audiences in training and speaking) and use action words, set timelines and deadlines. Quantify results. Set milestones. This time the resolutions are not going to go in a sealed envelope, but hang on the wall over my PC in the office for all to see. They will even go in this blog. And not make so many. Too many resolutions are discouraging, since many are not achieved. With a shorter list, more likelihood that the percentage of success will be greater.
Hope springs eternal. There is always a new beginning. Why do we wait until New Year's Day to do it? Every day, every moment can be a new beginning from the previous one. Tomorrow when I make the short list for 2009, one of the resolutions will be to begin again every day. Falling short one day doesn't mean failure, just an opportunity to pick up again the next day.
What will you resolve this year? More money, better education, lose some weight, connect with family and friends? Write it down, share it with someone, and don't be discouraged. You've got a year to get it together and make some progress. They say if you don't have a plan, you will be at the mercy of someone who does. Make your own plan and work it in 2009. And remember to have some fun while you're doing it.
Happy New Year!
On December 31, I pull out the envelope where I put last year's the New Year's Resolutions, open them up, and see how I did. Hmmmm. As I read the list, I am at times disappointed, amused, bewildered, angry, and resigned. Sometimes, one has actually been achieved. I'm a much better resolver than completer. That doesn't deter me from repeating the exercise for the next year. Undeterred, and always optomistic, I begin again. One year, after not making progress on a single item, I merely crossed out the year at the top of the page and put in the next year.
I always make New Years Resolutions. December 31, I take out the yellow legal pad (great expectations) and begin. #1 is always a repeat (except for 1997), "lose 20 lbs.) Then follows a litany of great expectations, such as "write book, remember everyone's birthday with card or call, make $1 million, be on 'Oprah" with new book, etc.)
One thing about making resolutions, is that making them isn't the thing. They say writing things down make them more likely to be achieved, like goals. I have found that writing them is helpful, but actually DOING them is what makes the difference. I learned the same thing over many years of buying the latest diet books when they hit the market. Buying the books isn't the key. Knowing what to do and why it works (or doesn't) to take off the pounds isn't enough. Actually cutting those calories, getting off your butt and walking or working out is what makes the numbers on the scale decrease. Knowing all the "secrets" and "surefire tips" to losing weight isn't enough. You do much better by putting knowledge to action. 1997 was proof of that...actually lost those 20 lbs!
This year, I'm going to add something to my resolutions. A start date, and a completion date. I'm going to take my own advice (that I give to my audiences in training and speaking) and use action words, set timelines and deadlines. Quantify results. Set milestones. This time the resolutions are not going to go in a sealed envelope, but hang on the wall over my PC in the office for all to see. They will even go in this blog. And not make so many. Too many resolutions are discouraging, since many are not achieved. With a shorter list, more likelihood that the percentage of success will be greater.
Hope springs eternal. There is always a new beginning. Why do we wait until New Year's Day to do it? Every day, every moment can be a new beginning from the previous one. Tomorrow when I make the short list for 2009, one of the resolutions will be to begin again every day. Falling short one day doesn't mean failure, just an opportunity to pick up again the next day.
What will you resolve this year? More money, better education, lose some weight, connect with family and friends? Write it down, share it with someone, and don't be discouraged. You've got a year to get it together and make some progress. They say if you don't have a plan, you will be at the mercy of someone who does. Make your own plan and work it in 2009. And remember to have some fun while you're doing it.
Happy New Year!
Friday, December 19, 2008
"Ho, Ho, Ho" or "Ho Hum" ?
i just returned from my last training engagement for the month. I am now sitting in the midst of christmas cards that haven't been written, gifts that now have to be sent by FedEx ($$$$!!!), the pajamas patterns for the children and grandchildren cut but not yet sewed (7 of them) and a lovely Christmas tree aglow with lights, but with nary an ornament. The nutrolls haven't even gotten to the ingredient-buying stage. No stockings hung on the chimney with care (where are they, anyway??).
Someone asked me yesterday if I was ready for Christmas. I wasn't ready for Thanksgiving, but it came anyway. That's the way I feel about Christmas, too. It will come whether I'm "ready" or not. Thanks to my husband, the lighted wreaths with their beautiful red bows are already in place, hanging outside the upstairs bay windows on our old historic house in Savannah. What is "ready"??? How ready do you have to be, and who decides?
My son is coming tomorrow for a quick visit with two of my grandchildren. Next weekend, we will have the little girls, my husband's two children, and the following week, my two children and four grandchildren will descend on us for two days of welcomed chaos. Am I ready for that??? Absolutely. I can't wait.
Sometimes we let the preparation and some arbitrary standard of "readiness" measure our excitement or enjoyment of an event. The house has to be pristine, the decorations up to Southern Living Magazine standard, the food worthy of recognition by the Food Network. We lose the "Ho, Ho, Ho" merriment and enjoyment of the moment by exhausting ourselves with preparation, wanting that approval or adulation of what WE did instead of focusing on the mere joy of being together for a time in a special season.
This year, my decorations may be "Ho Hum", but when we open the door to family and friends, my heart will be singing "Ho, Ho, Ho." Don't miss the magic amid all the crazienss. Determine your own standards. Clear the clutter off the dining room table, dust off the good china, and really look at and talk to your family and guests. Give a few extra hugs, tell someone how much you love them and what they mean to you. Don't stress over the chocolate stains on the couch or the candy cane stuck to the curtains. That's what Resolve carpet and upholstery cleaners are for. Happy Holidays!
Someone asked me yesterday if I was ready for Christmas. I wasn't ready for Thanksgiving, but it came anyway. That's the way I feel about Christmas, too. It will come whether I'm "ready" or not. Thanks to my husband, the lighted wreaths with their beautiful red bows are already in place, hanging outside the upstairs bay windows on our old historic house in Savannah. What is "ready"??? How ready do you have to be, and who decides?
My son is coming tomorrow for a quick visit with two of my grandchildren. Next weekend, we will have the little girls, my husband's two children, and the following week, my two children and four grandchildren will descend on us for two days of welcomed chaos. Am I ready for that??? Absolutely. I can't wait.
Sometimes we let the preparation and some arbitrary standard of "readiness" measure our excitement or enjoyment of an event. The house has to be pristine, the decorations up to Southern Living Magazine standard, the food worthy of recognition by the Food Network. We lose the "Ho, Ho, Ho" merriment and enjoyment of the moment by exhausting ourselves with preparation, wanting that approval or adulation of what WE did instead of focusing on the mere joy of being together for a time in a special season.
This year, my decorations may be "Ho Hum", but when we open the door to family and friends, my heart will be singing "Ho, Ho, Ho." Don't miss the magic amid all the crazienss. Determine your own standards. Clear the clutter off the dining room table, dust off the good china, and really look at and talk to your family and guests. Give a few extra hugs, tell someone how much you love them and what they mean to you. Don't stress over the chocolate stains on the couch or the candy cane stuck to the curtains. That's what Resolve carpet and upholstery cleaners are for. Happy Holidays!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Homeward Bound
It's one of those comfy Fridays...small wisps of clouds in the sky, a hint of warmth in the breeze for the middle of December. The house is quiet, except for the gentle sounds of one of the original albums of Simon and Garfunkle, taking me back to random days, times, sites, and people of a time long lost and often forgotten. Now it's "Bridge Over Troubled Water." I can see Art Garfunkle again (saw S&G in person in the 60's in concert at Valparaiso University) his curly hair almost standing up, thin, lanky silhouette on the stage, soft jacket, scarf carelessly wound around his neck. It is almost prayerful, the song. He closes his eyes, and the lyrics come, soft, liquid, caramel, soothing, yet aching, wrenching.
Music does things to me. Quiets, stirs, evokes. All those afternoons and evenings working in my Dad's music store (K Music, Glen Park, Gary Indiana)endlessly listening to the latest hits, country and western, classical, whatever was new or what the customer was interested in. I learned how to sing harmony by listening to all that music. In my teens, when I was lonely, or just wanted to escape the boredom of everyday or avoid my homework, I would put on a stack of LP's on the record player in the living room at home, and lay prone on the floor, ear up against the speakers on the front so I was enveloped, surrounded, caressed by the music. I could hear at once each individual part and all of them together. There was such beauty, power, emotion in those sounds, meeting, parting, soaring, and then coming together again.
Music has always been a part of my life. My children and I listened to lots of music together. Children's songs, christian songs (in our religious phase), nursery rhymes. I used to sing to them when they were babies, and was renowned for always having a song for everything. Give me a word, and I'd give you a song. We all loved music, and each had his or her own taste. My daughter with her "skater" phase. My son, the bass player for the high school garage band, "Midnight Raid", and husband/father, with some of the craziest songs, played over and over on those long trips to Hilton Head.
A nice, cozy, Friday, full of soft lights, music, and memories. Have a great weekend.
Music does things to me. Quiets, stirs, evokes. All those afternoons and evenings working in my Dad's music store (K Music, Glen Park, Gary Indiana)endlessly listening to the latest hits, country and western, classical, whatever was new or what the customer was interested in. I learned how to sing harmony by listening to all that music. In my teens, when I was lonely, or just wanted to escape the boredom of everyday or avoid my homework, I would put on a stack of LP's on the record player in the living room at home, and lay prone on the floor, ear up against the speakers on the front so I was enveloped, surrounded, caressed by the music. I could hear at once each individual part and all of them together. There was such beauty, power, emotion in those sounds, meeting, parting, soaring, and then coming together again.
Music has always been a part of my life. My children and I listened to lots of music together. Children's songs, christian songs (in our religious phase), nursery rhymes. I used to sing to them when they were babies, and was renowned for always having a song for everything. Give me a word, and I'd give you a song. We all loved music, and each had his or her own taste. My daughter with her "skater" phase. My son, the bass player for the high school garage band, "Midnight Raid", and husband/father, with some of the craziest songs, played over and over on those long trips to Hilton Head.
A nice, cozy, Friday, full of soft lights, music, and memories. Have a great weekend.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Go Buy Something!
This thing with the economy is too big to even get your arms around, so I'm not going to try to sound intelligent about what caused it or what to do about it. I do know that there are still plenty of things that you have to buy, like food, gas, adult beverages, and new tunes for the IPod. The bailouts and economic recovery packages are designed for people to do just that....spend. So, if the government and all the people that screwed up the economy are getting trillions of dollars to spend FAST, why should the rest of us stop?
One thing that would help, along with a moratorium on foreclosures would be a moratorium on layoffs and terminations. Companies could take the hundreds of thousands (millions?) of dollars they budgeted for bonuses, raises and holiday parties and put it in a fund to pay salaries for the next year instead. Better to keep people working then ruin more lives and cause more economic havoc by putting more people on unemployment comp. Let the big guys with the big bucks learn how to clip coupons and run the self-check out at Wal-Mart, and maybe they would understand what it's like to live like the rest of us. Maybe they would care.
Anyway, have some fun and go out and buy something today. It's good for the psyche, and good for the economy. Buy something for yourself, and something for someone else. You get to smile and help someone else smile too. That's priceless.
Have some fun today!
One thing that would help, along with a moratorium on foreclosures would be a moratorium on layoffs and terminations. Companies could take the hundreds of thousands (millions?) of dollars they budgeted for bonuses, raises and holiday parties and put it in a fund to pay salaries for the next year instead. Better to keep people working then ruin more lives and cause more economic havoc by putting more people on unemployment comp. Let the big guys with the big bucks learn how to clip coupons and run the self-check out at Wal-Mart, and maybe they would understand what it's like to live like the rest of us. Maybe they would care.
Anyway, have some fun and go out and buy something today. It's good for the psyche, and good for the economy. Buy something for yourself, and something for someone else. You get to smile and help someone else smile too. That's priceless.
Have some fun today!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Geeks to the Rescue in Portland, ME
I have yet another "Geek to the rescue" story to tell. No, I am not an actor, and yes, I really am a customer just like you (hopefully) who just happened to have the need to be saved (yet again) from the treachery of cyberspace, a virus (perhaps), and the perils of using Microsoft Vista (nobody asked me!).
As a consultant, trainer, speaker, writer, I travel a lot and this past week found myself at the Eastland Park Hotel in beautiful downtown Portland, Maine, delivering a training program. I carry an LCD projector and laptop with me for my PowerPoint presentation, and have never had a problem with the computer. Now the LCD is another story. On another trip, just after purchase, the $350 bulb in my new projector blew out, leaving me with no A/V. Thanks to Circuit City and their more than generous return policy, I was given a brand new one (I had just asked for a replacement bulb). (Sorry, Best Buy, but they beat you on price for the same model.) However, every time I push the "Power" button on the LCD, I hold my breath, remembering the loud "pop" sound of that fateful day, hoping that I won't have another equipment failure.
As I was setting up the equipment on that Monday morning in Maine, I hooked up the laptop and projector, carefully pushed "power" (no popping sound) and then powered up the laptop. I entered my password, then got an error message that my password was not recognized. I tried again, but got into a maddening loop of entering the password, logging off, logging on, and then the same message. I was frantic, thinking I would have to do my program sans the dazzling PP presentation. Visions of shadow puppets against a blank screen, and recreating the graphics on a flip chart brought fear and terror to my heart. There was no reasoning with the laptop. No go. Nada.
Remembering my previous encounters, I immediately thought of the Geek Squad. Surely, they had one in Portland. To my relief, there was, and after a call to the Best Buy at the Maine Mall, I felt relief was only a cab ride away. After my program was over at 4, I got a cab and off to the mall. A very nice agent named Jeramy came to my rescue. Again, dressed in his official Geek Squad uniform, badge on his belt, he quickly assessed the problem. However, it appeared first that my laptop had a corrupted file, and the initial phone analysis of just a password change was not possible. I believe my pleading, positive affirmations that he was indeed a "genius" who could master anything, and my look of panic made him keep exploring possibilities. After conferring with another Geek at the desk, he successfully circumvented the nasty error message through safe mode and was able to set back my computer to a few days prior to the message. He logged off, and we held our collective breaths while he tried to log on again! Miracles do happen, there is an Easter Bunny, and good guys (and geeks) win in the end. There is no sweeter sound than the login tune for Microsoft and no greater sight than my desktop on the laptop screen (he also removed the password login screen). We cheered, we laughed, we cried (or at least I did). For a mere 30-minute counter charge, I was back in business.
Whether in Savannah, GA, Portland, ME, or anywhere else the 11,000 Geeks are on duty, you can rest assured that they can help. I was able to do my presentation the next day in all it's PowerPoint glory, and then go on to Bangor, Maine and do the same. Not resting on his laurels, Jeramy also personally escorted me to the business supply section (I wanted to get some overheads just in case), and had Ian, one of the store's Business Technology Professionals touch base to be sure all my needs were met.
A very class act. Experts that don't let you down. Best Buy and Geek Squad made a great team. Courteous, professional, knowledgeable, and dedicated to finding solutions. Fast and Economical!
What else can I say? Thanks to the Geek Squad once again.
As a consultant, trainer, speaker, writer, I travel a lot and this past week found myself at the Eastland Park Hotel in beautiful downtown Portland, Maine, delivering a training program. I carry an LCD projector and laptop with me for my PowerPoint presentation, and have never had a problem with the computer. Now the LCD is another story. On another trip, just after purchase, the $350 bulb in my new projector blew out, leaving me with no A/V. Thanks to Circuit City and their more than generous return policy, I was given a brand new one (I had just asked for a replacement bulb). (Sorry, Best Buy, but they beat you on price for the same model.) However, every time I push the "Power" button on the LCD, I hold my breath, remembering the loud "pop" sound of that fateful day, hoping that I won't have another equipment failure.
As I was setting up the equipment on that Monday morning in Maine, I hooked up the laptop and projector, carefully pushed "power" (no popping sound) and then powered up the laptop. I entered my password, then got an error message that my password was not recognized. I tried again, but got into a maddening loop of entering the password, logging off, logging on, and then the same message. I was frantic, thinking I would have to do my program sans the dazzling PP presentation. Visions of shadow puppets against a blank screen, and recreating the graphics on a flip chart brought fear and terror to my heart. There was no reasoning with the laptop. No go. Nada.
Remembering my previous encounters, I immediately thought of the Geek Squad. Surely, they had one in Portland. To my relief, there was, and after a call to the Best Buy at the Maine Mall, I felt relief was only a cab ride away. After my program was over at 4, I got a cab and off to the mall. A very nice agent named Jeramy came to my rescue. Again, dressed in his official Geek Squad uniform, badge on his belt, he quickly assessed the problem. However, it appeared first that my laptop had a corrupted file, and the initial phone analysis of just a password change was not possible. I believe my pleading, positive affirmations that he was indeed a "genius" who could master anything, and my look of panic made him keep exploring possibilities. After conferring with another Geek at the desk, he successfully circumvented the nasty error message through safe mode and was able to set back my computer to a few days prior to the message. He logged off, and we held our collective breaths while he tried to log on again! Miracles do happen, there is an Easter Bunny, and good guys (and geeks) win in the end. There is no sweeter sound than the login tune for Microsoft and no greater sight than my desktop on the laptop screen (he also removed the password login screen). We cheered, we laughed, we cried (or at least I did). For a mere 30-minute counter charge, I was back in business.
Whether in Savannah, GA, Portland, ME, or anywhere else the 11,000 Geeks are on duty, you can rest assured that they can help. I was able to do my presentation the next day in all it's PowerPoint glory, and then go on to Bangor, Maine and do the same. Not resting on his laurels, Jeramy also personally escorted me to the business supply section (I wanted to get some overheads just in case), and had Ian, one of the store's Business Technology Professionals touch base to be sure all my needs were met.
A very class act. Experts that don't let you down. Best Buy and Geek Squad made a great team. Courteous, professional, knowledgeable, and dedicated to finding solutions. Fast and Economical!
What else can I say? Thanks to the Geek Squad once again.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Halloween Musings
Tonight is the night for ghouls, goblins, and other scary things. In Savannah, we have lots of real ghosts who haven't yet passed over, and they will be at their best, delighting all the people taking the late night "ghost pub crawls." I don't know what's scarier, the real ghosts or tourists dressing up, drinking too much, and then stumbling around dark, creepy houses and bars, listening to stories of murder and mayhem.
There is a great deal on the media about keeping Halloween safe for kids. Lots of police out tonight. One reporter said the police are out to make sure the registered sex offenders are complying with their curfew and aren't out with the kiddies. Now that's really scary. It's sad to think that such a fun holiday has turned into a daytime, go with your parents, controlled activity where it starts going to only approved houses, and ends at the local hospital where the candy has to be x-rayed and analyzed before eaten.
Halloween was far different when I was a child. I remember putting on some semblance of home-made costume, and going out with my friends at a very young age, with a pillowcase for the booty, and walking for blocks and blocks until the bag was full. We went to every house, and before long, the grapevine had bulletins out on who was giving out full-size candy bars...hershey's bars with almonds and nestles crunch bars being the best. We would go up to church where the nuns and priests would OOOH and AHHHH over our costumes and give out some of the best candy. There was nary a parent in sight, but no problem. There were droves of kids making the rounds. If you were out too late when the crowds started thinning, there was the risk of running into the older kids who were out to steal candy bags,but those were few and far between. We would come home from our trek, dump the bags on the floor, and then begin the serious trading. My siblings and I would sort, and trade for what we liked best. Then, my brother would make a fort out of his candy, with Milky Way sentry positions and gun mounts out of sucker sticks. My mother would loan us her turkey roaster pan and soup pot to store the candy in, which went immediately to our rooms and hiding places, far from the other kids and parents with sweet tooths.
Now that I'm an adult, its not the ghosts or goblins that scare me most. It's reading the newspaper with all the violence in the city, or the business page, or the financial news. Recession, layoffs, foreclosures. We are just in the beginning, and who knows what tomorrow will bring. The news media is anticipating a "test" for the new President his first year in office. Dire predictions of a 9-11 type attack, maybe this time biological. Now that's scary. Too much TV time is bad for children, but now it's just as bad for adults. Tired of being scared? Turn off the TV and radio. Hold someone's hand that you trust and cares for you. Count your blessings. Take some time to think of something to be happy about, and don't stop until you do. And when the kids come home with their candy bags, or you've got some leftover nestle crunch bars when the trick-or-treaters have gone home, settle back, snuggle next to someone(thing) (person, pet, etc.)smile, and sink your teeth into some forbidden chocolate delight. Savor the moment.
Happy Halloween!
There is a great deal on the media about keeping Halloween safe for kids. Lots of police out tonight. One reporter said the police are out to make sure the registered sex offenders are complying with their curfew and aren't out with the kiddies. Now that's really scary. It's sad to think that such a fun holiday has turned into a daytime, go with your parents, controlled activity where it starts going to only approved houses, and ends at the local hospital where the candy has to be x-rayed and analyzed before eaten.
Halloween was far different when I was a child. I remember putting on some semblance of home-made costume, and going out with my friends at a very young age, with a pillowcase for the booty, and walking for blocks and blocks until the bag was full. We went to every house, and before long, the grapevine had bulletins out on who was giving out full-size candy bars...hershey's bars with almonds and nestles crunch bars being the best. We would go up to church where the nuns and priests would OOOH and AHHHH over our costumes and give out some of the best candy. There was nary a parent in sight, but no problem. There were droves of kids making the rounds. If you were out too late when the crowds started thinning, there was the risk of running into the older kids who were out to steal candy bags,but those were few and far between. We would come home from our trek, dump the bags on the floor, and then begin the serious trading. My siblings and I would sort, and trade for what we liked best. Then, my brother would make a fort out of his candy, with Milky Way sentry positions and gun mounts out of sucker sticks. My mother would loan us her turkey roaster pan and soup pot to store the candy in, which went immediately to our rooms and hiding places, far from the other kids and parents with sweet tooths.
Now that I'm an adult, its not the ghosts or goblins that scare me most. It's reading the newspaper with all the violence in the city, or the business page, or the financial news. Recession, layoffs, foreclosures. We are just in the beginning, and who knows what tomorrow will bring. The news media is anticipating a "test" for the new President his first year in office. Dire predictions of a 9-11 type attack, maybe this time biological. Now that's scary. Too much TV time is bad for children, but now it's just as bad for adults. Tired of being scared? Turn off the TV and radio. Hold someone's hand that you trust and cares for you. Count your blessings. Take some time to think of something to be happy about, and don't stop until you do. And when the kids come home with their candy bags, or you've got some leftover nestle crunch bars when the trick-or-treaters have gone home, settle back, snuggle next to someone(thing) (person, pet, etc.)smile, and sink your teeth into some forbidden chocolate delight. Savor the moment.
Happy Halloween!
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