I refuse to let "them" take away my Halloween fun. There are people in the world that refuse to have fun. They figure if it's fun there must be something inherently wrong with it. I don't follow the original idea of Halloween as some profess it to be. Halloweeen for us was always about getting a chance to dress up and get some free candy. Now if you are a 7 yr old kid that is a pretty cool thing indeed.

We generally like to decorate the house to a great degree. There are tombstones in the front yard, and one of those creepy ghouls in a locked cage, bats, and pumpkins. We have colored lights and a fog machine. We love it....I dress up and sit out on the bench in the front yard with a bowl of candy next to me. If a small kid comes up I don't move. I let them think I'm a fake. BUT...when the 13 and older crowd comes knockin well then they are just on their own. If you are a teenager and come looking to trick or treat at my house, then I'm planning on at least attempting to scare you. I wait until the drop down spider startles them, then when they get over that and go for the candy that's when i pounce. Nothing gives me quite so much Halloween joy as to watch a big tough teenager run flat out as fast as they can back to the safety of the curb.

Now for those people that see evil in this, I'm sorry for you. There is nothing wrong with people dressing up and walking around to get a treat from the neighbors. It also promotes good community welfare. We get to know some of our neighbors from a couple blocks away. When parents walk with the kids, we tend to strike up conversations with them, and get to know the people that live around us a little bit better.

So to clarify...first of all I'm not Celtic..I don't celebrate this as the day when the worlds of the living and the dead or "blurred". I don't slaughter kittens, or goats and drink the blood. I don't put razorblades in apples, and I don't butcher people with a machete and a mask. I think people need to take a breath and get out there with their kids, or grandkids, or nieces and nephews. Walk around and get to know your neighbors again. If you don't have any kids to go trick or treating with, then get a bunch of candy and meet the kids and parents as they come walking through the neighborhood looking for that sugar fix. Let's not pretend that this is really some nationally celebrated satanic ritual. This is one tradition that we need to keep going. So get those jack-O-Laterns carved and put them on the porch. Put up an old sheet with some eyes cut out ( you don't have to buy your stuff at the store ready to go, make your own). Have somebody flicking the lights on and off. Just relax and enjoy Halloween for what it is in our part of the world. Simply a reason for kids to get out and cut loose and have a good time. AT NOBODY'S EXPENSE.

Have fun everybody and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!