Tag: Halloween

  • Autumn Memories, Sort of (Unedited)

    There is a serious Autumn chill in the air today, and it’s awesome. This was the first day that I could put on a button-down shirt, and a sweater, and a coat. Leaves are changing color in the City, and it’s getting darker earlier. My wife loves this time of year because we can leave the bedroom window cracked, making it all chilly in there, and sleep under all the comforters. (But I hate Pumpkin spice, so don’t get me started on that shit.) For a guy who loves Fall, this was like Heaven.

    As a kid growing up in Texas, Autumn didn’t start until November. And even then we had a couple of Thanksgivings were we had to run the air conditioner – not that it stopped my father from building a fire in the fireplace. Usually, by Halloween, it started to noticeably cool down at night, so you’d have to put on a sweater ort a coat. Maybe the leaves would just start changing color. I do remember several Halloweens where we were sweating while Trick or Treating. Depending on what your costume was, this could make the evening a very sweaty affair.

    Sadly, Fall in Texas was not a long season. As soon as it started, a month later it was December, and full on Texas winter. All the leaves had fallen, and it was a chilling 50 degrees out. Basically, you had one month to get all you Autumnal fun in.

    And then by March, it was Spring, and warm again.

  • Apple Pickin’

    Apple picking is hokey, corny, and a sad excuse for city people to play farmer. We drive way out to the country to go to a “farm” and then pay to pick apples, which half of them will rot in our homes as we try to figure out what to do with 10 lbs. of apples.

    I have a fraught relationship with apple picking, but after nine years of it, I have come to love this part of our Fall tradition.

    The first time I went a’pickin’ was when the kid was a baby, and the “farm” was this almost amusement-park-of-a-place why out in the sticks of New Jersey. It took like thirty minutes to get into the place, the parking was so bad. The line for tickets was long, and then when you got in the joint, all the trees had been picked over. (There were pony rides!) And leaving the place took an hour. It was like leaving a rock concert, but with way more produce. I felt silly being there, like I was being conned.

    The next time I went was when my parents came to visit New York, and were staying upstate, as they were traveling in a motorhome. My wonderful wife found an orchard not too far from where my folks were staying. That was a way more enjoyable experience. It wasn’t crowded, lots of apples, a large orchard to wander around, and most importantly, the kid had a good time. With the exception of the Covid Years, we have gone back to the apple farm year after year.

    And as each year goes by, I start looking forward to it, more and more. It has become our tradition, and an activity that we can yardstick our year, and also gage how much the kid has grown and changed. It’s also the gateway into Autumn for us, as the drive takes us out of the City and into the woods of small town upstate. The changing leaves, and Halloween decorations sprinkled about every corner. Maybe it wasn’t as cool as it was last year, and the leaves were more yellow than any other color… but Fall had arrived for our family.

    Which also included the dog.

    (The dog was totes ready for some apple pickin’)

  • ODDS and ENDS: Crypto Scam, Sick Kid, Reject Me Already, and Thanksgiving

    (Don’t flood it…)

    So, Sam Bankman-Fried is going to jail for a very long time. I’m sure you know this, but crypto is a scam. Or, if I’m being polite, it’s just a new form of gambling. And SBF gambled and got caught. From everything that I read about this guy, he was too smart for his own good. He struck me as the type of person who was, and knew he was, smarter than everyone else, and somehow thought he could use his intelligence to get himself out of this situation. In the end, he was a con-artist, and he coned a lot of people. Including some other very smart people. Also, I am aware that as soon as I post this, I will get inundated with a bunch of crypto bots trying to get me to buy crypto.

    And the kid is sick. We watched “Let’s Make a Deal” this morning together. That was sweet. She’s running a fever, and feels awful, but she gets the iPad all day, so it’s not all bad.

    And as of this minute, I have yet to be rejected by Taco Bell Quarterly. They are one of my favorite online lit journals, and I’m not saying that because I submitted a story to them. TBQ has an attitude not unlike a favorite underground punk band that is parts hilarious, offensive, and friendly all at the same time. Anyway, the other day TBQ announced that they were sending out rejection letters and… I’m waiting for my rejection letter. They did say it would take some time, as they have to send out 2,800+ rejections. Over on TBQ’s X/Twitter feed, writers who have received their rejections are editing and marking out their letters to create new messages of varying degrees of positive/negative statements. It’s been fun to watch. But still… Where’s my rejection letter?

    Now that Halloween is over, time to start prepping for Thanksgiving. For me, that means making chicken, turkey and mushroom stock ahead of time. As well as stock piling non-perishable food. I’m getting ahead this year, and watch how this will play out. I’m sure I’ll be writing about it often.

  • It’s Halloween, Ya’ll!

    The day is finally here. The kid had trouble sleeping last night, because she’s very excited about all the fun that will happen today. Not only does she get to wear her costume to school, she’s going as Coraline, but this year her parents are joining in on the fun and going as Coraline’s parents. We’ll get an early dinner, and then meet up with friends and do a group Trick or Treating tonight. And right before the grownup’s invade the streets of New York to have their fun, we’ll get a cab home to avoid all the shenanigans. It will be a late night, with a possible tummy ache.

    The funny conversation we had while skipping to school this morning was her asking me when was the last year I tricked or treated? I was in 6th grade, so that puts it at 1988. I went as Indiana Jones, and walking around with my friends, going door to door, I felt the embarrassment of being too old for this. Twelve years old is an awkward age, but I’m pretty sure I was the twelve-year-old that wanted to be a 16-year-old, and being around real little kids just wasn’t cool anymore.

    I fear that the reason the kid asked me this was to try a gage how many trick or treat Halloweens she has left. I hope that wasn’t the reason because that would mean that she is aware of the mortality of certain events in her life. I had thought we had a year or two left of her thinking these occasions/events/holidays went on forever in their cycle – never changing just repeating. But they do change. Ever so slightly from year to year.

    And that’s why I told her that Halloween does stay fun. I had a bunch of really great Halloweens in my college theatre department. It is a holiday that is prime for a certain group of people who like to put on costumes, get into character, and then have a late-night party – that was a lot of fun. But most of all, I remember the friendships, and the good times with people I enjoyed seeing, being with, and working with as well. There was a lull between kid Halloween and grownup Halloween, but each one has its place. Now I’m smack in the middle of parent Halloween, which is pretty unique on its own, and also has a very special place as well.

    So, I hope everyone has fun tonight. Be safe and celebrate in your own way. For me, I’ll be that guy chasing after his daughter in a green Michigan State sweatshirt, because that’s what I want to do for Halloween.

  • You Know, It’s the Great Pumpkin