Halloween shuffle mucks
Halloween. The only holiday that gets shuffled around more than Milton Waddams from “Office Space”.
“-if they move my desk one more time, then.. then I’m.. I’m quitting. I’m going to quit. And.. and I told Don too, because they’ve moved my desk four times already this year, and I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were merry-“
You never read in the paper “Christmas will be held on December 19 from 4:00 to 6:00”, like it was a school board meeting or self defense seminar. I’m referring to various towns council, mayors, and committees, that must supervise, moderate, and sanitize Halloween to death.
Our town pushed Trick or Treat back to October 30 this year, interrupting plans and causing confusion for no good reason whatsoever. Disappointed children marched through dark, deserted subdivisions, and neighborhood haunts like Shadow Wood saw far fewer visitors. How depressing and unnecessary.
Parents used to take the kids out at dusk on October 31, get reacquainted with the neighbors over a thermos of coffee, and enjoy the chilly evening. This tradition, for whatever reason, doesn’t suit the high mucky mucks around these parts who like to muck about in places where they don’t belong.
Halloween will always have its complainers, and that’s fine. I’m not a particular fan of Valentine’s Day. Possibly adding to the end-of-October discontent in some folks is a shift away from the traditional spooky -some might even say orthodox– Halloween, toward a more shocking and gory spectacle. Maybe there’s a pot and kettle argument here, but to each his own, and let the individual decide where to draw the line.
It keeps coming back to that, doesn’t it? Individual choice. Discontent in the “meddling class” -the bureaucrat’s restless desire to modify, manage, and control- always steps on the individual.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re gonna get a nosebleed up on that soapbox, Spook. Well, it’s not just that this happens, but it seems to happen a lot. And it’s not just my town, and it’s not just Halloween.
The sound of blowing leaves on October 31 should raise a thrill. It should mix with laughter and shouts of “Trick or Treat!”
Halloween night passed quietly in Snug Harbor, the music of the leaves become lonesome. And long after the last porch light went out, and the rest of the world turned in, Linus was wrapped in a blanket and led inside to bed.