Ever since my kids got older I stopped appreciating Halloween. Or at least I did until a year ago, after Katrina forced me to spend six weeks away from home. I returned to New Orleans once in September, before the city was 'officially opened.' But I came back for good in mid-October, about two weeks after parts of the city were re-opened and residents allowed to return. A lot of emotions bubbled around inside me then.
Not many people were back, and the city was mostly made up of folks from other parts of the country: FEMA workers, CDC types, military and police etc. The supermarket near my house was one the few open, and the hours of operation were from 10 am to 5 pm. I remember being amazed at how empty the shelves were when I went in for the first time. But I was even more amazed that they were selling pumpkins and Halloween candy. "How optimistic," I thought to myself.
I picked up a pumpkin and some bags of candy, almost like I had been given a post-hypnotic suggestion. It made no sense, and yet I was compelled to do it. I took the pumpkin home and found an old carving kit with some patterns. I spent a couple of hours scooping, cleaning and carving. My front porch was covered with slimy seeds. I hosed everything down and put a candle in the pumpkin and placed it strategically on my front porch. Then I spent the next few days pretending that I was actually living a normal life, and that one day noisy little kids would ring my doorbell and impatiently await their candy reward.
The kids never came, but I remember it was a nice night for trick-or-treating. Tonight, I'm pretty sure that some kids will come and ring my door bell. How many I'm not sure, but I've got the pumpkins and some candy. I lot has changed in one year. I'm still pretending to live a normal life, but with each new day I find that I don't have to pretend so much.
By the way, what exactly is a 'normal life' anyway?
"By the way, what exactly is a 'normal life' anyway?"
Excellent question. Whenever someone uses the word "normal" I never know what they mean. Most folks try to inflict their "normal" on others or at least judge others by the standard of their "normalness".
They are the scary ones!
Posted by: | November 01, 2006 at 12:33 AM
How was your Tick or Treat turnout after all?
Posted by: Alan Gutierrez | November 03, 2006 at 04:50 PM
It was light. I think about 25 kids came by. But they were all very cheerful and excited. So, it was all worth it.
Posted by: Ernie | November 03, 2006 at 04:58 PM
A normal life is when US troops in Iraq get deployed to realy protect us. See it in this video.
Posted by: F P | November 06, 2006 at 09:39 AM