Rain could dampen Halloween spirits

On behalf of every kid
I know (including the unquenchable kid in me), I’ve been holding my breath for a week. I don’t want to tempt fate, but it’s looking like I can exhale.
What with all the wet weather we have had during the end of October, I was afraid of some real horror on Halloween … rain.
It’s just lousy for all those adorable kids in those complicated costumes they have been planning for weeks when they have to cover it all up with a raincoat. Makeup runs, feathers flop, tutus droop, the loot starts getting sticky and parents are likely to cut the whole candy-gathering/costume-showing-off to a minimum. The whole prospect just makes me sadder than an uncarved pumpkin.
The creatures of the night really prefer a cloudless sky with a bright moon, you know. And, yes, we are spoiled out here, where as often as not, we are in shirtsleeves on All Hallow’s Eve.
That’s what lets my neighbors open their garage and serve hot buttered rum, kid’s punch and the big candy bars. It should let me serve up hot dogs again this year. My biggest fans are the parents being force-marched through the neighborhood before they had a chance for dinner. Some youngsters suddenly realize they are hungry for something besides candy. Others are way too focused on the goodies for “real” food. A stormy night would put a real crimp in outdoor eating. Even if you can keep the coals hot, the buns just won’t hold up.
While I loved the thunder, lightning and good soaking for my yard, I have been watching the subsequent weather with trepidation. The four-day forecast showed no threat of a cloudburst, but forecasts are not to be entirely trusted. I know I’m not alone in this, so let’s channel all our good thoughts in a dry-sky direction for Sunday.
Whatever the weather, however, I will be surrounded by festivities, as my darlin’ daughter is the maven of Halloween. If nothing else, I will see my house and yard transformed for her annual Halloween bash and get to chuckle at 20-somethings in always-creative costumes.
Every time I walk downstairs, some new decoration has popped up. Today it was a smoke-breathing dragon. Yesterday, a new black cat on the stair top and before that, a sparkly skull candle. She is eyeing the front lawn and has collected several gravestones, plus signs and lots of fake cobwebs.
Truth is, my place doesn’t need much of the fake stuff … right next to my front porch light is a nice, fat, very real spider and his very real web. There aren’t the dozens we get in summer, but it’s still rather festive. In my high windows and vaulted ceilings are a collection of really authentic cobwebs, too, that sadly are not that easy to see. It’s all so organic, don’t you think?
If your tummy’s grumbling, drop on by. I promise to go light on the eye of newt and toe of frog.