Halloween at Last

The children have been anticipating this for a couple of months now.

Bigger Girl has her mask and very nice dress -- she is a sophisticated young lady of 17 and plans to distribute organic suckers to the children who come by for the Great Neighborhood Candy Exchange, after she gets home from work.

#2 Son is ready, also. Black cape, black hockey mask, fake chainsaw that makes realistic noises, at 14 his plan is to run around the neighborhood seeing whom he can scare. He also has a homemade piece of body armor to wear under it, literally a metal codpiece, so if anyone tries to come after him where it counts, he is protected. He has been wearing it under his jeans for days, and no one has noticed, he says.

Little Girl has built her own costume, using faux fur and hot glue, making a big black cat costume of the kind you see school mascots wearing. Yes, she builds and makes those herself, and they really look good. She says she only has a couple of years to trick or treat left, and she is going to make the most of it.

As for me, well, Brother-In-Law, The Mouth, has to be fed. so my usual work is cut out for me.


Today is:

Admission Day, Nevada

Allantide -- Cornwall, England

All Hallows Eve -- Christian

All Saint's Day -- Sweden

Apple and Candle Night -- Wales

Dookie Apple Night -- Newcastle, England

Duck Apple Night -- Liverpool, England

Feast to Pomona -- Ancient Roman Calendar

Festival of Inner Worlds

Ghost Walk

Ghostwriter's Day

Hallowe'en or Beggar's Night

Homemakers' Day

Increase Your Psychic Powers Day

Independence Day, Antigua

National Knock-Knock Joke Day

National Magic Day -- in honor of Harry Houdini, who died on this day in 1926

National Caramel Apple Day

National UNICEF Day

Nut-Crack Night -- Scotland; England

Old Celtic New Year's Eve

Reformation Day -- Protestant Christian

Samhain Eve -- Druids

Senior Absurdity Day at Horace Mann School

St. Quentin's Day

St. Wolfgang's Day (patron of carpenters and woodcarvers)

Swamp Buggy Race Day -- Naples, Florida

Thump-the-Door Night -- Isle of Mann

Trick or Treat Night

Youth Honor Day


Anniversaries Today:

Nevada becomes the 36th US State, 1964


Birthdays Today:

Adam Horovitz, 1966
Peter Jackson, 1961
Larry Mullen, Jr., 1961
John Candy, 1950
Jane Pauley, 1950
Deidre Hall, 1947
David Ogden Stiers, 1942
Michael Landon, 1936
Dan Rather, 1931
Michael Collins, 1930
Barbara Bel Geddes, 1922
Dale Evans, 1912
Ethel Waters, 1896
Chaing Kai-shek, 1887
Juliette Low, 1860
John Keats, 1795
Jan Vermeer, 1632


Today in History:

Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites after their return to Jerusalem from exile, BC445
First All Hallows Eve observed to honor all the saints, 834
Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg church door, marks the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, 1517
Georg Ludwig van Hannover is crowned as the English King George I, 1714
Execution of Girondins at Paris during the Reign of Terror, 1793
Sir Humphrey Davy of London patents the miner's safety lamp, 1815
A standard uniform is approved for US Postal workers, 1868
A tropical cyclone hits Bengal, about 200,000 die, 1876
John Boyd Dunlop patents the pneumatic bicycle tire, 1888
Arthur Conan Doyle publishes "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", 1892
Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across United States, 1913
World Savings Day is announced in Milan, Italy by the Members of the Association at the 1st International Savings Bank Congress, 1924
Mt. Rushmore sculptures are completed, 1941
The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal, 1956
Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two security guards, 1984
EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board, 1999
Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted, 1999