Now that we have Halloween out of our system (if not all the sugar), it’s time to reflect on the pressing issues of our modern age. That being, do you think the change to Daylight Savings Time was worth it? For those of you wondering yesterday, “isn’t it usually darker when we trick or treat?” it’s because the Gubmint pushed the date a week later that we turn our clocks back an hour, and moved up the date in the Spring when they go forward, all in a semi-quasi-pseudo effort to conserve energy (evidence that this helps is sorely lacking).

What this meant for parents is that our little ninjas and butterflies were roaming the streets in the daylight. In our village, where trick or treating cut off at 7 p.m., that meant a scant hour to haunt the darkness of night.

So what did you think of the change? Did you like it better being able to actually see the sidewalk, and feel more comfortable letting your older kids go out on their own? Or, like me, did you kind of miss roaming around under the streetlights, guided by the flicker of the jack ‘o lanterns?

Bookmark to:
    

Spotted this morning above the entrance to the local mall:

What the hell is this? DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING, people. Day after Thanksgiving is the first acceptable day for outdoor Christmas displays. At least Target has the goddamn sense to shove the x-mas stuff into the back corner of the store — past the Halloween decorations I might add — until the last doorbell chime of the trick-or-treaters has been rung.

UNACCEPTABLE, local mall. Try as you might, I officially refuse to be jolly or merry or bright until midnight on November 23. So TAKE THAT.

Bookmark to:
    

“So, you guys have fun at the pumpkin patch?” I ask my 4-year-old, who is carrying a bag of kettle corn taller than he is.

“Yeah, I do.”

I turn to our 9-year-old. “What did you have for lunch?”

“Corn.”

“That’s it, just corn?”

“Oh, and pumpkin pie. And a taffy apple for dessert.”

Bookmark to:
    

Halloween today in no way resembles the Halloween of my youth. We trick-or-treated with pillow cases until 10pm, dumping them out at home once full and then heading back out again.?‚? House after house, street after street was?‚? bustling with costumed kids and adults.?‚? We yelled “trick-or-treat” in unison no matter our age.?‚? It wasn’t until I was probably about my daughter’s age, 11, that?‚? anyone start “checking” the candy for razors or other special things.

Even though my neighborhood has lots of kids, I’ll be lucky if?‚? I?‚? see one Elmo and a smattering of princesses.?‚? Trick-or-Treating in my town is from 3 to 7.?‚? I guess doling out the three bags of candy I bought today is?‚? not only?‚? a pipe dream, but tomorrow’s dinner as well.?‚?

And as?‚? if remembering the glory of Halloweens past?‚? my isn’t enough, my preteen daughter hit up history for her hippie costume,?‚? and that?‚? whole ordeal catapulted me?‚? right into the future.I did not put one even one Halloween decoration this year, and my kids didn’t care. My 14 year old shrugs his shoulders at the mention of Halloween, just hopeful I bought candy he likes. My daughter is going to a friend’s house after school, putting on her costume and trick-or-treating with other pre-teen girls in their neighborhood.?‚? ?‚? That means she won’t even our doorbell.?‚?

It also means my photos of tomorrow’s event will be handed to me from an eleven year old, not uploaded from my digital camera.

Unless of course I put on a costume of my own and follow her around.?‚? Which I threatened to do?‚? promised I would never do.?‚?

Anyway in this day and age, that would probably get me arrested.

?‚?

?‚?

Bookmark to:
    

The monk from The Da Vinci CodeΒ 

Lou Dobbs

14th century French philosopher Francis of Marchia

Dick Cheney

An illegal immigrant

Google

Maddox Jolie

A living tableau honoring the fallen heroes of World War II
Β 
Bill Gates

The 13th and most underrated president of the United States, Millard Fillmore

Hobo

Bookmark to:
    

Lead. If you’re into chemistry, you might know it as Pb or atomic number 82 on the periodic table. When ingested in high levels by humans, it can cause neurological problems, gastrointestinal problems, kidney problems, and even reproductive problems. In extreme cases, it can even cause death and is particularly dangerous to children.

According to Wilkipedia, lead is commonly found in things like?‚? car batteries, coolant, paint (prior to 1978), high voltage power cables, and roofing material. Not really things that your child will be playing with, right? So I guess we can all heave a huge old sigh of relief and move on, right?

Wrong.

It seems like every time I turn around,?‚? I’m hearing about yet another?‚? seemingly innocuous?‚? item that contains lead. Your artificial christmas tree? Full of it.?‚? ?‚? The plastic?‚? Halloween costumes?‚? for sale at stores nationwide??‚? Lead, baby.?‚? The candy that our neighbors could be handing out for Halloween? Mmmm, yummy lead. The lunch bags we’ve been using for the past five years…uh, lead sandwiches anyone??‚? The toy jewelry that your child got from a vending machine and that cute little?‚? bracelet you bought your daughter at the Disney?‚? Store??‚? Yep, you guessed it - lead and more lead.

I could go on, but I won’t. You get the picture.

What I want to know is: what the heck is going on? You’d think that since we know that lead is poisonous, that at the very least, we wouldn’t find it our children’s toys.

I guess we can find some solace in the fact that in some states, like California, business are required to provide warnings when a product is known to contain toxic chemicals. That is, unless there is no such law in your state. In which case, some people apparently feel free to ignore the public health risk just so they can sell their products, as reported in this news story:

California law requires businesses to provide warnings when they expose the public to hazardous chemicals, like lead. But that’s not the case everywhere. Some costumes found in California are being sold in other states with the warning labels blacked out.

Blacked out, people. The?‚? labels warning us that?‚? our children’s Halloween costumes contain toxic levels of lead are being blacked out.

What is this world coming to?

?‚?

Bookmark to: