We need them, moments when we move out of the profane, into the sacred. To see, as Dennis saw with his son, the joy. Or, as I wrote, the blast it is to see looks on children's face. The innocent who are all fascinated by the magic and mystery of dressing up, adrenelin pumped in anticipation of the candy, fascinated by your decorations or glimpsing another person's home or seeing who lives there. The look on the face of the kid who's old enough to laugh at all this stuff, but who still wants a pillowcase full of candy.
Isn't that the great thing about it? IT's taking a moment to move out of the ordinary and experience a little joy, a little surpise, a little sense of shared humanity. The joy of dressing up like a witch or scarecrow, sitting on your porch, still and quiet, and then making a noise so as to scare the kiddies. IF they're like me, it'll be something they love and remember the rest of their lives.
I still remember the guy who'd rigged up a table displaying a bowl of candy. When you reached for the candy, something happened that scared the dickens out of you. I was with my son, taking him trick or treating. Both of us ran and then stopped when we realized we'd been had. It's a moment, a sacred moment, really. A ritual, of scaring yourself, even purposefully putting yourself in the situation. You know it's fake, but so? You get scared anyway.
So, we stopped not far from his home and laughed at ourselves. Returned to admire how he'd rigged up the place.
Anyway, more rambling. As for the rest, I agree with your point. Above was just an elaboration on what you're talking about -- at least it read that way to me.
The Bitch
Bitch | Lab
Raunchier. Bitchier. Leftier. Feministier. Smaller Package.
At 01:34 PM 11/1/2005, Thomas Seay wrote:
>--- Chuck0 <chuck at mutualaid.org> wrote:
>
><<Ah yes, Chavez is starting to look like just another
>tin horn dictator
>who thinks he has the right to tell his people how to
>live their lives.
>Now he's adopted a position roughly similar to the
>American religious
>right which also wants to kill Halloween. >>
>
>I dont think I would go this far. First of all,
>something like St. Valentine's Day, which from my
>understanding is just a vulgar fabrication of Hallmark
>cards would deserve this type of criticism. However,
>there are two sides to globalism, one positive and one
>negative. Sharing cultural traditions is a positive
>one. Yesterday, some new Indian immigrants with whom
>I work celebrated Halloween with me. Today I am
>celebrating Diwali with them. What's the problem with
>that?
>
>So, unless there is something that I dont know about,
>Chavez seems to be resorting to knee-jerk
>anti-americanism (EVERYTHING AMERICAN IS EVIL) or
>left-wing provincialism.
>
>Halloween is a really fun holiday. Of course it is
>going to be exploited for marketing purposes, but what
>isn't? That does not diminish its true appeal.
>Chavez' statement is ridiculous. That doesnt make him
>a bad leader (after all, he did not make a law against
>Halloween, just a recommendation), just stupid in this
>particular instance.
>
>-Thomas
>
>
>
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