Neighborly Halloween

October 31, 2024

Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,

punkin

An easy diary, a Cambridge-Avenue traditional Halloween. It has seemed that our neighborliness has been fading lately, maybe since Covid, but at least half the street joined in for treats and pot luck. We gathered on The Commons, complete with fire-pit and tables loaded with too much candy. Well, not "too much", because that is simply not possible on this last evening of October.

Here is my picture album:

group
Vern Rosemary soup

Friends and food. Works for us.

candy first customers

Our first customers were small ones, harvesting before bed time!

Wilson and mom James and cousin

Neighbor Wilson and the best smile he could manage.
His brother and cousin joined in later, with smiles.

goblins teens scary

Most of the ghouls and goblins were from neighboring streets.
It was fun to greet them all.

Three hours after we started, it was all over. For the record, the first kids (except Wilson) came by at 5:50 and we were all packed up by 7:50. The streets still held candy-seekers, but only for another half-hour or so. We should take this into next year's planning. But we will probably forget. Again.

Among us adults, the scariest conversations had been about the pending election. If the giant orange pumpkin-head wins the presidency, our nightmares will come true. Even if he loses, election-worry will shift to inaugeration-worry over the next months. Where will the country be next Halloween?

For our candy detox, we will head off on a quick visit to Death Valley. I hope we can concentrate on desert, hills, and vistas. But I have to admit that relaxing on election night will be tricky, since our hotel does have cable television and internet.

Stay tuned.

John and Marianne