Halloween dog

Makayla is being a good sport about Halloween. She is dressed and ready for some serious trick or treating.

Halloween 2010

Anyone who knows me, knows that I do not appreciate Halloween.

I'm not sure what the purpose is to dress up as scary creatures and troll the neighborhood looking for trouble.

Asking unsuspecting homeowners to pay a ransom or be tricked!

But that written, Makayla does have a costume and will be trick-or-treating tonight with the grandsons.

While on the surface this festival is all about goodness and fun, it has very dark undertones which pull at our hearts and cause sleepless nights.

But, funny enough the name Halloween really draws from the day it precedes--All Saints Day. A holy day celebrated by the church where the saints of the church are remembered and celebrated.

Now the festival (I refuse to call it a holiday) has become a huge commercialized venture coupled with parties and many social events and opportunities.

But, on the other hand, I do enjoy the little kids in their costumes and the fun that they have coming to the door and saying those magical words: "Trick or Treat!" It makes me smile to see their smiles behind their masks.

So while I don't appreciate Halloween--as such, I do enjoy the children and their enthusiasm and I guess that is what it is all about.

Spider lurking in the tree

Outside Nicole and Mike's home the other afternoon was a very large spider--going about the business of creating a huge, just in time for Halloween web.

The web was not confined to only one tree, not this industrious arachnoid was busy involving two trees into its web. I wonder if it was hunting for small birds or children? This is an example of an orb-weaving spider and according to the description, it was doing exactly what it is known for--weaving a large web between objects.

This also must be small animal week--given the depressing blog yesterday about the small frog that attempted to cross the parkway.

This spider though is big! Compared to spiders.

It was a very industrious spider and I am sure it will be rewarded with a satisfying meal of some large insect.

I was fascinated, for a few moments, watching the spider work. After a while though, it noticed me and ceased working and began watching me watching it.

It was an interesting stand-off and the spider proved victorious when I got bored watching it do nothing and moved along.

But is was a beautiful afternoon after the storms to notice the bugs and animals around the area.

Frog and Traffic

It was suicide--I knew it was.

There was nothing I could do but watch and wait for the inevitable to happen on the rain swept morning highway packed with other commuters headed on their way to businesses, schools or other places of labor to spend their day.

It was still night even though it was morning. Made darker still by the low-hanging graphite colored clouds pouring rain down upon the landscape.

The headlights of my car reflected very little of the wet, soggy scenery back to me.

Although my speed was significantly reduced from the normal 50 to 60 miles per hour--even creeping along at 15 mph there was no hope.

I first saw it as a streak of white bounding in front of me. It continued with some regularity bounding across the road with all of the traffic.

A small animal, I presume a small frog, crossing the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at the height of the predawn rush hour. It was bounding up into the air and back down again. Playing a real world game of Frogger--only this time there would be no resurrection for round 2. The consequences this day were permanent.

In the steady rain even with the wipers removing the water from the windshield only moderately efficiently, it was easy to see this small creature and consider its impending fate on the three lane wide highway.

I was saddened.

But, I am always saddened by the carnage along the roads.

I wonder if the frog had a last thought as the tire of the car in the lane next to me transformed it into a two dimensional creature like a cartoon drawing.

What is it like to be alive--and then not? That fast.

I looked down the road at the miles of red tail lights strung out before me like so many Christmas lights. I turned up the radio to see how bad the delay was going to be this morning and worked to remove the thought of that ill-fated road crossing from my mind.

Still, it haunts me a little.

I don't like unhappy endings.

The endings where the underdog fails--and then dies.

What chance does a small frog have against a car on a parkway?

The same as a cat or a dog or a raccoon.

None.

The Enemy of Good is Better

It's true.

Sometimes I spend so much time trying to achieve perfection that I become wasteful--can I make it just a little bit better?

How much time do I spend trying to make something good, perfect? Or a little bit better?

Is it an act of pride?

Is it productive?

No, sometimes it is not productive at all. I can spend 90 percent of my time striving for a modest improvement--and I could have spent the additional time doing something really important.

An acquaintance of mine is publishing a new book of his poetry titled The Enemy of Good is Better.

Chris and I sit in front of him and his wife at Orioles baseball games as we have the same 13-game plan package. Over the years we have gotten to know them and look forward to chatting with them during the games. Catching up on life and talking about friends and family and the rhythm of life.

Only within the past year did I realize that he is a published poet--with his own book and a number of very prestigious awards. I purchased his first book--The Clock Made of Confetti. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and the poems--they are complex reading poems full of images and history and emotions.

So it was the title of his new book in pre-publication which really stirred me thinking about the use of time trying to make thing just a little bit better--when they were really good.

Nothing good, it seems, survives. It must be better or it decays into chaos.

The Trees at the End of the Parking Lot

Walking out of the gym on Monday afternoon, I was confronted with an awesome sight--the stand of trees at the end of the parking lot were in full autumn color.

In a word--they were magnificent in their seasonal garb.

I snapped a quick picture with my phone camera. I was a little unsteady after playing four hard fought racquetball games--but I was still able to appreciate the color and the beauty there at the end of the lot.

The trees were standing in front of gray, dark clouds--which even without the sunlight to illuminate them made them seem all the more beautiful.

This is the season to notice the changes happening around me. It is much the reverse of springtime--where I notice the new green growth on the trees and then the flowers begin to show themselves. Now, it is the trees as they morph from green to reds and oranges, and yellows that cause me to pause for a moment and appreciate their transformation.

Although like the springtime, the color is only temporary, now is definitely the time to enjoy it.

Take a moment--

It will soon pass if you miss it.

Flu Shots

They say we should get them.

And I did--yesterday, but secretly I wish I hadn't.

My arm hurts where I got the shot. The health care professional told me it would and it was because of the shot, not the person giving it. Some gallows humor I guess.

The price was right--free, and I got to get some time away from my desk to get the shot.

Still, I feel like a Guinea pig. Test driving the shot for millions of others who have yet to get it or decide they need one.

This year they have included the swine flu shot we received separately last year. I'm sure there will be some new flu they haven't thought about which will require a second stick.

I hate needles. I just can't look at them as they penetrate my skin. I'm afraid I'll tense up or something and then bad things will happen.

But I lived through it.

So I guess I recommend the experience.

Monday Musings - October 25, 2010

1. Well, the teams are all set. Isn't it great we are going to have a World Series without the Yankees, Red Sox, or the Phillies? Actually 2006 was the last time this happened with the Cardinals beating the Tigers 4 games to 1.

2. Sports-wise, yesterday was a good day for the family with the Ravens, Steelers, and Redskins all winning. Tonight, however, will be a disaster as either the Giants or the Cowboys will have to lose and there are family members rooting for each team. It is tough when the teams play each other.

3. Eight days until the election--I wonder if there is any hope the news media will run out of gas or things to say before then.

4. Chinese (Brown Marmorated) stink bugs are a real problem. They are everywhere.

5. Isn't it interesting the difference in perspective? The French are on strike because the government wants to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Here in the U.S. we are yawning as the government is making plans to raise it from 66 to 70. Hmmm.

6. I heard an interesting statement regarding differences between people as it related to the bus scene in Forrest Gump: "we all, deep inside, are hoping that someone will say, 'you can sit here.'"

7. Here is a scary thought. Christmas is just two months away.

8. Today in Elkridge, the sun rises at 7:27 am and sets tonight at 6:14 pm. Total: 10:47. Tomorrow, the total sun time will be two minutes shorter. I hope the Australians are enjoying our sunshine!

9. Mondays are the dividing line between what we want to do and what we need to do to keep enjoying what we want to do.

Late October Reality

The cool wind, almost cold, that blew me through the breezeway at work was a real shock the other day at lunch.

I had not felt a wind that cold in many months--and I was immediately transported back to last winter when the frigid winds blew unchecked across the landscape bringing with them record amounts of snowfall.

I can still see the whiteouts associated with the Snowpocalypse. And feel the chill all the way to my bones.

But have no fear, the NOAA is reporting that this winter should be a more normal 18 inches of snowfall variety, with temperatures a bit warmer.

That will sure be a welcome relief to my beleagured budget when confronted by the astronomic electric bills associated with too much cold and its associated snow.

The cool wind chilled me.

And I stood straighter and squared my shoulders into the wind so that it would not get the best of me.

But I know what is coming.

As Darkness Falls

I was outside the other evening.

It had been a beautiful afternoon. Chris and Makayla and I had taken a long walk to enjoy the afternoon and the clear blue skies as well as the touch of autumn which is beginning to adorn the trees in the neighborhood.

I decided to walk the yards--something that I all too infrequently do just to see how things are doing. I often do small tasks like removing fallen branches and I also determine whether it is time to mow again--which it is by the way.

As I was completing my tour of the yards, I noticed the setting sun was delineating a clear line of light and dark on the trees in the back yard.

It was eerie.

There is was--the dividiing line between day and night, it seemed, clearly drawn on the trees behind my house.

Now I know this was not the famous terminator line. But I could imagine it was, for a minute. The difference between the light and dark was very stark.

Above, in the tree tops it was bright as day and cheerful. Below, it was night. Hard to see and full of unseen unknowns.

The trees are mostly green but the colors of the autumn are creeping into their canopies.

Soon, after the leaves are fallen, the trees will cast ghostly shadows on the lawn instead of providing their ubiquitous shade.

But that is still to come as the seasons continue their inevitable cycling which spawns new life and sees it through to maturity and then starts over again.

For now though--I glimpsed, or I could imagine I glimpsed, the line separating light and darkness as it crept across my lawn and night fell.