Halloween is Tomorrow? Are you Serious?!

I just realized tomorrow is Halloween. Really, I looked it up and everything. October will be gone for another year and November and its rewards will be here again. Am I ready for November. The answer would be: NO!

October came and went without the rich enjoyment I remember from other years. No leaf watching car trips, the North Georgia Mountains have become to crowded to enjoy the fall colors. No trip to the apple farms to pick our own, both weekends of the Apple Festival I was sick. No trips to the high school for Friday night football, my daughter would be mortified if I went and 'embarassed' her.

Which brings up to Halloween and this year's debate: How old is too old to go out Trick or Treating? My son stopped going out for candy in 7th grade. But now, Darling Daughter, who is in 9th grade, has decided after two years of staying home and pushing candy out the door, this year she and her 'boy' friend are going out through the neighborhood. I have exactly two problems with this scenario.

The first one is, high school students are too old for Halloween. Now granted, my child could pass for a 6th grader. She is petite. But she is still in high school. The second problem is, she is going with the 'boy' friend and his friends. Out, in the dark, at night, just with them. See my concern.

True, my daughter is a bright, level headed, intelligent, calm girl. But teenage boys are teenage boys no matter what generation. So, yeah - I'm a little bugged. Unfortunately my son will be working, or I would have him come chaperon. Will Helpful Hubby be home in time to help? I seriously doubt it. This is a busy week for events in our area. So who does that leave?

My mother would say that I am only receiving the payments for all the stress I put on my parents at this age. That's probably true, but it still doesn't get me a chaperon. Of course, I never had one at this age.

Forget the chaperon! I need a body guard! STAT!

Typing My Fingers to the Bone

If anyone thinks writing is easy, I invite them into my head. So many people, so many conversations - it makes me ill some times. Everyone has to have their turn in the spotlight and so they fight and scream to get their point across. It gets very loud some days.

Currently I am working on the edits for my first book, CATALYST - Guardian Rising. It's exciting, it's fun but mostly it's a challenge. Several suggestions my editor made require rewriting large sections of text. In the beginning the changes seemed overwhelming. But with perseverance  and time I think I will actually make my deadline. Cover art has been discussed and so much is in the planning stages. At last! My oldest dream coming true.

I've also head issues with my permanent job affecting the time I get to spend writing. Fall and Summer are big seasons in the tent rental industry. So in between festivals, fairs, wedding and commercial events I've been working. I haven't had any cotton candy yet this year, so boo on that. No candy apples, no hot dogs, nothing. I miss the cotton candy a lot.

The holiday season will be upon us soon, with lots of family, food, road trips and presents. My goal for this holiday season is to not gain any weight. I might not lose any but I will not be gaining any. Of course, I do have to make two of my fabulous coconut cakes and I have to have a slice to check on the consistency. And to test the bread for Christmas breakfast.  Well, maybe I won't gain any weight.

Thomas Jefferson where are you?

Our country is in a serious downward spiral. The economy is sinking faster than a concrete block. Jobs are being lost in the blink of an eye and our government is wandering around in a self serving haze.

In New York, Atlanta and other cities around the country, young people are protesting Wall Street and the dysfunction in our banking system. Over the weekend, many saw themselves arrested or harassed. Is there any difference between those who protested the Vietnam War and the draft with those who are now upset with the financial situation here in America? Absolutely not, but that also means these protesters need to accept that with civil disobedience comes the possibility of government retribution.

Our Constitution guarantees us the right to disagree with our government, so long as it is peaceable, which for the most part these young people are maintaining. If we disagree with our elected officials, the time is coming to let them know. That is the second part of our disagreement rights. Exercising our right to vote for our government officials is the most important right we have.

Many people think only national elections are of any importance, and I certainly don't want to diminish them in any way, but local and state elections are the places where many of the laws that affect you personally are decided. If you don't think your local state representatives are protecting the things you cherish, then let them know. Be strong, be polite and be willing to vote the cad out if nothing changes.

If we do not exercise our rights, the government could easily take them from us. Don't ever forget - the consent to govern is mandated by and comes from the people. They should have our interests as a whole country in their programs. That has not been the case for many years.  Maybe we should just throw the entire lot out, or make them all work for minimum wage and have to sign up from Obamacare. Bet we would see things happening them

But Wall Street and the Financial problems require more. Mostly, it will require strong monetary reforms. No more programs like the 'Voodoo' Mortgages. There needs to be common sense exercised in this country. That is, if we can find enough people who still possess any.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs died yesterday. I remember the first time I was introduced to an Apple Macintosh while working for the IT department of a now defunct but at one time very popular shoe company. It seemed too simple to catch on, especially when compared with the big box mainframes and cutting edge first generation personal computers I was learning to use and program. While I was busy learning DOS and BASIC and COBOL, my boss was pulling out and plugging in his new Macintosh. From the first happy chirp I knew it was something special.

Jobs was more than a visionary. He personified an ethic not to let other people dictate who or what you are. Don't accept other's limitations as you own, but keep working until your dreams become your reality. Sometimes the world will be with you and a lot of time they will be against you but don't let that matter. He was possessed of a healthy blessing of the creative spirit and exhibited the dare to dream initiative that so many in the world are missing in this troubled times.

He also faced his impending death with grace. Can any of us say we would be the same? I don't think I would. Tomorrow is my birthday. Not THE birthday, but the last one of my 'youth'. I remember my grandmother telling me that fifty was the end of the world, now that's me. How did the time go by so fast? How much time do I have left? Or would I want to know if that information were available.

There is a new movie coming out soon whose premise is based on everyone being allotted only twenty-four years. A counter on your arm exacts the moments needed for each of life's experiences. Could you imagine how hopeless and beaten a pre-measured world would be? Would you trade any experience for more time?

I wonder if Steve Job would have traded any moment of his life, all his accomplishments for just a few more years. Somehow, I don't think he would.

Black and White and Shades of Grey

All my life I have been taught there are only two sides to every confrontation: black or white. My father did not consider the shade of grey as an answer. Dad considered grey as the color for those unable to stick with a position. Everything was wrong or right. However, with the disappearance of the core family unit and the values our ancestors used to pass down to each new generation, black and white have left the building leaving an entire rainbow of color answers.

Black = wrong, White = right, Grey = possible to be right or wrong only if no one get offended.

What other personal responsibilities formally taught to us by our families have we neglected to pass on to the next generation? Manners, correct enunciation, personal accountability all have gone the way of the flightless dodo bird, extinct due to lack of interest in their continuation.

What other little expected behaviors we all grew up with have suddenly disappeared? Chewing with one's mouth closed, wearing appropriate clothing for the event and location, and cutting in front of people in line are the first few that come to mind but I'm sure, given time, we all could come up with dozens. But what began this major shift in attitudes? Do we attribute this to the hippies back in the 60's? Or did it come sooner - as more families began chasing the all mighty dollar instead of growing their children.

I have two children in two different times of their lives, but they have been taught the consequences of their actions since they were old enough to talk back. I know they will tell me the truth, whether I am ready for it or not. They accept their punishments for their misdeeds and strive to learn from their mistakes.

I can think of thousands of prisoners who could learn something about personal responsibility.

A Hint of Fall in the Air

The past few days have been blissful here in the South. Mornings arrived with a chill and a hint of the coming change of season. They continued as clear days without the wisp of a cloud anywhere in sight until finishing  in glorious color with sunset and the return of a chill. These and many more wonders are the reasons Fall is my favorite time of the year, especially in this neck of the country.

Soon it will be apple festival time and craft fairs and funnel cakes will abound. Friday nights will be for high school football and Saturdays for watching horse shows and playing with my ponies. Sundays are for family and church and catching up. Which will bring up back around to Monday and more work waiting and resting up for Friday again. The cycle of life spinning another year from the threads of life.

I don't tend to get much work done in the fall. Outdoors brings so much more than the house, which I will soon be resigned to when winter begins his reign sooner than I will be ready. But for now, bring me fall. It brings the contentment my heart longs for, the harvest of the summer complete. Time to make preparations for my winter projects.

The years fly past faster every year. The children grow and begin going their own ways. Helpful Hubby and I both grow older and greyer each birthday and Christmas morning gets later every year.

But maybe I am only entering my mid-life crisis. I will accept that. Soon I will be at the jumping off point, and I can feel myself gathering to scream inside. I have a year to get ready for the big one so if I am going to crazy it needs to be soon. Maybe after fall - I can't miss my funnel cake fix.

Random Thoughts As Labor Day Approaches

It is the first of September and summer is officially over, at least in our neck of the woods. School has been in session for a month, the children have settled into their routines of school, homework, activities. Soon the leaves will start changing on the trees and (hopefully) cooler temperatures will invade North Georgia. Oh, Fall - Nature's Paint Explosion. How I love the crisp air and clear smells that define my favorite season.

Soon it will be Apple Festival time, and the Fair will come to town. We will take part in traditions born long ago and carried on today for reasons vastly different from their original meanings. The Fall Fair was a time to come together, to celebrate a success harvest to provide food during the coming winter and to fellowship before the cold and snow kept everyone confined and apart. Today we go to the fair to eat cotton candy and ride the rides. Oh how the times have changed.

This summer went by faster than anticipated. I can barely remember the Fourth of July, it seems more than just two months ago. Helpful Hubby and I didn't take a formal vacation, preferring to steal days here and there along the way to run off to the lake or just hand around the house. That, I have decided was the wrong thing. The act of booking a vacation and planning where to go and what to do is cathartic. Without that wholesale clearance process that accompanies a vacation our brains begin to clog with useless, out-dated information.

Europeans as a whole take the entire month of August as vacation. Why can't Americans get away with the same thing? Because after ten days the men would drive us all crazy! Maybe the better policy would be three vacations a year - one with your family, one by yourself or with friends and one with your significant other only.

Sounds like a plan to me!