My first blog has to cover a few things, but also be brief, because I need to go to bed to get up EARLY tomorrow. As a lot of people know, I am in the process of producing a CD and have experienced several pitfalls along the way. GOOD NEWS is that it is almost finished and it looks like I am going to meed my deadline of having it finished, duplicated and ready for distribution around the first of the year. So that is a positive point!

Unfortunately, not everything is positive. Tonight, last night and every night for the last year all I have heard about from my television, family, neighbors, friends and anyone I meet on the street is this upcoming election. Everyone is intent on saying that it is going to make history, either by putting a woman in the office of Vice-President or an African-American in the office of President. Now, I believe that every American should exercise their right to vote, and certainly vote their conviction. I have my choice clearly made, but that isn't the purpose of this. My purpose is, with all that we are blessed with in this country, all that our families go through, all that we know, all that we can do and can learn, are we so ignorant that every conversation we have must revolve around a clear and defined "hatred" of one of the candidates.

Finally, I have to hit my favorite topic of all... Halloween. Now I will admit before I start or say anything that I did go trick-or-treating as a child and find nothing wrong with it. I don't believe my kids are going to turn into axe murdering demons for participating in it, and I am not going to hold them inside all night, sprinkling them with Holy water, while blinking my front porch light at any hell-bound child who happens to come to my door. That being said, what are we teaching our kids by letting them do this? Halloween has to be the only day of the year that we allow our kids to go "bum" off the neighbors. Basically, we send them to the neighbor's house in disguise, or at least an attempt at one, in an attempt to get free food (I know it's candy, but it's not a power tool, it's food.) They have a neat little saying and without saying, "please" before or after it, hold out a bag or bucket and want the neighbors to fill it with good candy. Now, they can't be happy that they got food at one house, so they have to hit up every house in the neighborhood and some even other places. Now with church festivals and events like "Boo in the Zoo" they travel out in search of food other places and other days in the same disguise, and get it there too.

You might think I am mean and hate the kids, but here comes the other bad part, and this part is where the moral comes in. We will push our buggy through Wal-Mart or Target and buy these huge sacks of candy, decorations, and even an expensive bowl that is made of orange plastic that we will never use again, in expectation of the vagrant children who will be trespassing in our yards, but the other 364 days of the year, we don't worry about them eating well, having cavities, what they're doing or even think about giving them anything. As a matter of a fact, if a kid came to your house on March 24th (I just picked a random date) and asked for a little food, most of us would think of a quick excuse as to why we couldn't cater to their needs or MAYBE help them out and in the back of our minds wonder what's wrong. Very few of us could say we offered them something or gave freely without a second though, but on Halloween it's OK. So.... to the point.... if you are nice enough to give someone something on Halloween, be that same way every other day of the year. Just because there aren't hoards of children all made up like monsters, super heroes and princesses in front of your house doesn't mean they aren't coming!

P.S. - My mother is the cheapest Halloween candy buyer, so beware of our house. She bought low calorie cookie snack packs at Big-Lots (they have to be 10 years old) to give to kids. I told her she might as well give them a tube of toothpaste and some hemorrhoid cream. She didn't appreciate the humor in that. Plus... she will only give you one little pack... so don't waste your time. If I were hunting, I would seek out the houses where the nice fat people live that give you a BIG candy bar... they buy those (and I know because I am guilty of having done this) in anticipation of having some left over.