Halloween is near...BOO!

I will be the first to admit it. I LOVE old movies. By far some of my favorite movies are in the "horror" genre, things involving Vincent Price, Alfred Hitchcock, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney, and Boris Karloff to name a few of the "big names" back in the day. With Halloween only weeks away, I've had the opportunity to see a lot of old horror flicks on television and I'm LOVING it! It's bringing back memories of staying up late on weekends as a kid to watch a sometimes campy, sometimes creepy horror flick, often with a TV Horror Host who'd break things up by telling a tidbit about something behind the scenes of the movie or interjecting some humor.

I'm also getting nostalgic thinking about my childhood Halloween experiences, such as trying to navigate beneath a sheet with holes cut out for eyes (yes, I did the old school ghost costume), or sweltering beneath the uncomfortable plastic mask and plastic costume my Mom got at the store after much pleading and whining on my part. Many of my years of trick-or-treating was done with my big sister and my nephew (there's a big age gap - I was an aunt at age 3). I vividly remember Mom dressing up like a scarecrow one year, simply by wearing a flannel shirt under her overalls and tucking some straw into the cuffs at her wrists and ankles and painting her face a bit. Generally my parents didn't have a lot of money to throw away on a poorly made costume I'd only wear once, so I was encouraged to be creative and resourceful. At the time I'm sure I thought they were big ole meanies for not letting me wear the same sorts of store-bought costumes my friends got to wear. In hindsight, however, I'm really grateful.

I also remember that these were the years when people handed out apples and homemade goodies, and nobody thought anything was sinister about it. Popcorn balls sticky with molasses done up in plastic wrap, or sugar cookies with M&Ms pressed into them, or caramel apples made near enough to trick-or-treat time that they'd still be warm...that's not something my children have ever experienced. The candy was in a league all it's own. Red Hots, Bottlecaps, Sixlets, candy cigarettes, wax "Coke" bottles with sugary sweet liquid inside, Charleston Chew, sheets of candy buttons, square Chunky bars, Dubble Bubble gum, Fruit Stripe gum, Fun Dip Lik-M-Aid, Milk Duds, Sugar Daddies, Oh Henry! candy bars, Pop Rocks, Razzles, Smarties, Wax Lips (weird, but totally chew-worthy), and the list goes on. There was no reason to take away our goodies and look at each individual piece back then, because there was no media hype about razors or needles hidden in the treats. Kids simply got home, dumped their pillowcases (a plastic bag? Ppppfffttt!), sorted the candy out in some way or another. My system was simple: I had the chocolate pile, the not-chocolate pile, and the eww that's gross and I'm not gonna eat it pile. I had to trick-or-treat by car, since I lived out on a farm, and I used to get jealous as I would watch television shows of television kids going out their television house and walking around their television blocks without even seeing a car.

I remember Halloween parties, hayrides, bobbing for apples. I remember one of my neighbors (I think it was Jennifer, but it might have been Ginger) having a "ghost" hung up on their front porch for days prior to Halloween. Then, on the night of Halloween, the hanging ghost was replaced by a human under a sheet - one who proceeded to give me a big hug and nearly scare the life out of me! And I loved it.

I wonder, looking at my kids, what they'll remember about Halloween. My daughter's too old to trick-or-treat anymore at age 15. My son will have turned 10 just a few days before Halloween this year, so his time to stop begging for candy door-to-door is drawing near. Will they remember particular costumes? The way it is so cold here by Halloween that they often wind up having to cover their outfit with a coat? Will they remember how their candy lasts for months because we stash it and hand them a couple of pieces a day rather than let them gorge themselves into a sugar coma? I hope they remember good things, fun things, cherished things.

Mainly, fall seems to remind me that time is passing quickly. It reminds me to slow down, examine the colors of the leaves, to snuggle up with my kids and a warm drink (if they'll let me). The air gets crisp and cool and fresher somehow. Back home, this was my favorite time of year. I spent many autumn days laying on the cool grass of our front yard, making out shapes in the clouds, watching the leaves fall, taking deep breaths to fill my lungs with air so crisp and fresh I could taste it. I'd walk down to the bridge and watch the sun slowly sink on the horizon as it reflected off the babbling water of the creek.

I love the fall. I love Halloween. And for now, in this moment, I'm just feeling blessed to have had the life I've had so far.

Lady Fun With Guns

I'm one of those lucky women who has some truly awesome girlfriends with whom to hang out and basically enjoy life. One of these awesome ladies heard about a local business hosting a weekly "Ladies Night", complete with freebies we'd have to pay for any other night of the week, and decided it would make a great girls night out event.

THAT, my dear readers, is how we wound up here:



At first glance you'd think that sign would just be a cute "hey, it's almost Halloween, aren't we funny" sort of sign. You'd be WRONG. DEAD wrong. (See what I did there? It's funny cuz zombies are reanimated corpses.)

I picked out a sweet little .22 revolver. It wasn't the top choice of the others, I think because it wasn't as glamorous as some of the more serious weaponry with a big kick. I, however, am in looooove. I present my weapon of choice:



I also selected my target, a zombie lass by the name of Becky. My reason for selecting her above the other zombies were, as I explained to my friends, because "even dead she's prettier than me. I hate the bitch!" Don't believe me? Check her out:



It's important to remember that with zombies, you gotta aim for the head. So you know what I did? I killed zombie Becky. I killed her real good!



Now let's be clear. Yes, I did grow up on a farm in middle Tennessee. Yes, my Dad, my Pa, my brother, uncles and male cousins all had guns. But the ONLY time prior to this week's adventures in gunland I'd actually used a gun was for 7th grade hunter safety class. (And yes, that was a required portion of my 7th grade health class. Who could even make that up?) So the fact that I was able to make Becky's zombie face look like the world's worst case of pizza face makes me unbelievably proud, people. PROUD!

I think I may have found myself a new hobby. Also, it's very possible my Southern accent will come back VERY strong while at the range, if for no other reason to make people around me check my back pocket for a snuff circle. *p'tooey!*

More on Polanski

The country - indeed, the world - has been going nuts about Roman Polanski this week. There's been some good, some bad, and some ugly.

Squarely in the GOOD category is Polanski, Polanski, Polanski: Kate Harding's blog listing all of the OTHER blogs she's written in the aftermath of Roman Polanski's arrest - the Hollyweird support system, the Whoopi "rape-rape" thing, and most importantly a very detailed recounting of the crime for which Roman Polanski was originally arrested back in 1977. She approaches the subject with not just disgust at his crimes, but also with intelligence and links to back up what she writes.

In the BAD category we have Polanski's Arrest: Shame on the Swiss written by Joan Z. Shore. It's not only bad because of it's content, but because Shore is apparently the co-founder for something called Women Overseas for Equality in Belgium. I'm still processing how someone who's for equality for women can find a way to justify saying "shame on the Swiss" for arresting a child-raping fugitive.

In the UGLY category is the shockingly horrific fact that Feminist Majority founder Peg Yorkin was quoted in a L.A. Times story as saying "It's bad a person was raped. But that was so many years ago. The guy has been through so much in his life. It's crazy to arrest him now. Let it go. The government could spend its money on other things." Fortunately it looks like the president of the Feminist Majority Foundation disagrees with the founder.

"It wasn't rape-rape"? Say WHAT?!

It's been all over the news lately. Roman Polanski was arrested for raping a 13 year old back in 1977. Why so long to arrest him? Well, he kinda fled the country in 1978. Yeah.

So anyway, today I read online that there had been a discussion of it on ABC's "The View". And that discussion didn't put co-host Whoopi Goldberg in a very good light. Apparently, she defended Polanski by saying "it wasn't 'rape-rape'".

HUH?!

Not just wanting to take this tidbit on faith, I wound up on YouTube searching for the clip. I found it.



My head is still spinning. HOW could ANYONE with any sense of right and wrong try to downplay the severity of DRUGGING AND RAPING A 13 YEAR OLD CHILD?!?!

Am I overreacting here? I mean, would she struggle this hard to defend the rapist if he was some unknown, overweight dude finally found decades after his initial arrest for drugging and raping a child?

And it's not just Whoopi, folks. No, it seems that Hollywood embraces Roman Polanski, too.

I get that he had a horrible childhood, losing his mother at Auschwitz. I get that he had to deal with the horror of his wife Sharon Tate being butchered by the Charles Manson clan. I'm not intending to downplay those horrors AT ALL. He's a gifted director, and I'm not discounting that, either.

What I AM saying, though, is that plenty of people survived the Holocaust without becoming child rapists. Many, many people have lost a spouse to senseless, terrible murder without becoming child rapists. And I'd be willing to bet that there are lots of other gifted directors who didn't make the choice to drug and rape a child. NOTHING, not his bad times nor his gifts, makes it acceptable to do what he did way back in 1977. NOTHING makes it okay to evade the law for such a heinous crime for decades.

Shame on you, Whoopi Goldberg. Shame on you, Polanski supporters - in Hollywood and around the globe. Shame on you.

"A Murder of Crows"

If you've been terrified of our feathered friends since watching the Hitchcock classic "The Birds", I apologize for this blog in advance.



It's Tuesday evening and I'm surfing the web while my local news is on the television. I like to multitask. Don't judge me.

Anyway, I've been paying a little attention to the news here and there, looking up when the latest story about the Bikini Baristas around here getting in trouble for serving up more than coffee (because, really, baristas in bikinis?).

But then they teased a story about crows. Specifically, teased an upcoming segment about how crows are really smart. Like, smart enough to recognize faces and hold grudges kind of smart.

I couldn't help but stare at the television screen until the segment came on, a sort of terror building as my mind began cataloging all the creepy movies I've seen featuring bloodthirsty crows. *gulp*

Finally the segment came on, and after watching it I've got to say my uneasiness has ratcheted up a notch or two...or three. As it turns out, UW researchers say crows are as intelligent as apes.

Suddenly I find myself wondering if I've ever done anything to raise the ire of any crows. Have I walked too close to a nest and been tagged as a threat? Do they have their own way of telling the other crows "the kid in the third house on the left threw a rock at me, go get him"? Can I even use Twitter without freaking out whenever I see that little bird?

Anyway, there's apparently going to be a documentary airing on CBC about these dark, intelligent creatures. I'll probably watch it, if only to educate myself a little more. Who knows, maybe I'll wind up befriending a murder of crows. If I do, I promise to use my Bird Whisperer powers for good...probably.