Salutations™!!
I used to love Halloween. I mean, really love it. I called it my favorite holiday. According to which definition of “holiday” you use, it may or may not be an actual holiday.
Wikipedia describes a holiday in the US: the word is used exclusively to refer to the nationally, religiously or culturally observed day(s) of rest or celebration, or the events themselves.
Merriam-Webster says: a day on which one is exempt from work; specifically: a day marked by a general suspension of work in commemoration of an event.
Usually, we don’t shut down businesses for Halloween.
When I was a kid, there was nothing like it. Especially because we lived back in a hollow in West Virginia with no street lights on the road (only in folks’ yards and on houses). It was safe and we could roam about and be silly. There was this weird contest between my mother and my friends and me about who could scare the other party the most. She won more often than not. There was one time when she had borrowed this ridiculous mask that my uncle had and hid in the woods along the road. We all came through and she jumped out. We were all screaming like little girls and I was on the ground yelling that I wanted my mommy. No lie. Good times, those.
But, as I got older, I stopped caring about it gradually as time went on. And, now as a full-on adult, and yeah, I’ll say it, middle-aged, it’s really turned into a big ol’ nuisance. It’s an amateur drinking holiday. It brings out the wackos. It’s just not that fun for me anymore. 3B isn’t into a lot of the stuff so I can’t do what my mom did, plus, I’m afraid I’d be shot or something these days.
I don’t like jack o’ lanterns.
Sure, there are the movies, right? Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Or, the classics: Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, The Blob, Night of the Living Dead. Or the newbies: The Grudge (or more specifically the superior Japanese version Ju-On), The Ring, Insidious, Paranormal Activity and on and on and on. I still love those. But, I can see those now at any time because of streaming and/or owning them.
Then there are the kids. I love my son and my nephews, but really, I don’t like kids. I haven’t liked kids for a while. They get on my nerves. There are exceptions but mostly, nah. We are lucky enough to not have kids in our neighborhood and we are far enough off the road that no one comes back here and just in case, we leave the lights off because lights off mean “closed for business” to Trick-or-Treaters. I don’t want them here.
So, if you’re going out tonight to do Halloween things, knock yourself out! Have fun. Have a ball. Eat, drink, be merry. But, be safe. If you’re going out with your kids tricking and treating, then have fun, be safe. If you’re watching “scary” films, turn the light off, grab your favorite beverage and your favorite person and watch away. If you like Halloween and everything there is about it. I hope it’s a great, fun and safe one. If you’re like me, turn off the lights, watch the football game and relish in the fact that it’s Friday Eve.
Until tomorrow, same blog channel…
Scorp out!
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“It’s Halloween; everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” – Brackett from Halloween