Our house is next door to some Hallowe’en fanatics, so we observe the 31st along with the rest of our neighbors and enjoy the costumed parade across our property. Not saying I’m upset if it falls on a night when I’m working and we miss the whole thing….but we don’t get away with that very often. The little guys are the most fun, looking all confused; but hey, it’s free candy, so why not?
There are three kids who live beside us, but I think it’s ‘dad’ who gets the most enthusiastic about decorating their yard. It’s covered in tombstones and spooky things; witches, skeltons, pumpkins, ghosts. A gigantic mummy has been trying to escape from their front window for a couple of weeks now. There are red flood lights up already, and on Hallowe’en night all of these things plus the sound effects will attract hoards of trick or treaters who love to get freaked out by such things and scream their little heads off all in the name of fun.
I guess this year my door plaque that says “the boogey man lives here” was just too pathetic on its own for them to accept. So they’ve donated one of their many tombstones and propped it up in our yard. It’s placed under a mostly dead birch tree which we’ve been meaning to have cut down, but we can’t do that now! Because an arrow points to it, and the stone reads “The Tree. It Just Needed Water”. Such a sad little epitaph for the poor deceased thing. Almost makes me want to leave it there purely for its decorative effect for Hallowe’ens to come.
Breathing Space 