Most of the trees have lost their color and are in various stages of nakedness. It is a time when there is lots of activity in the fields as farmers disk the ground and sow their wheat as well as combine their soybeans. It is not uncommon to to be driving at night and see headlights in places where you don’t normally see them as these men work late to get the job done.
FREEZING. There have been many mornings the last couple of weeks Jenna will look at the thermometer and say something like, “It’s 45°, it’s freezing outside.” Being one to keep things stirred up I’ll argue the technical point saying, “Oh no it’s not. Water freezes at 32° so it’s 13° above freezing.” She had me Friday morning when it was 28°.
These temperatures don’t bother me, but let it get to 80° and I’m starting to feel really hot. So is Vicki. Jim and Dianna have teased us about this over the years. When we talked this weekend they asked how cold it was here and when I mentioned Friday morning’s temperature Dianna thought that was really cold. I noticed she didn’t have a good comeback when I told her that if I couldn’t complain about 80° being hot then she had no right to complain about 28° being cold. I guess it’s all what you’re acclimated to.
HALLOWEEN. We actually had very pleasant weather Tuesday for Trick or Treating. Our boys were cowboys (Nate rode in his own horse) and Jenna was a cowgirl. Between them they packed four cap pistols and a water gun. The high sheriff had confiscated all ammunition before we hit the trail. Even with these precautions there were a few casualties along the way, much to the delight of our cowpokes.
We usually walk down Main Street in Cross Plains and then hit several neighbors out in the country. This year we reversed course. By the time we got to Cross Plains most of the trick or treating was over and at least one house had run out of candy having served over 300 kids. Because of this the pile of loot was a bit smaller, but the quality was top notch. We all had a great time.
REMEMBERING HERBERT. Halloween always makes me think of Herbert. Herbert is a mask that belongs to Kenny. I think Kenny bought Herbert in the Haunted Mansion gift shop at Disney World when he was on his senior trip. Herbert is a really ugly, bald headed man with bulging eyes and several deep scars running along his face. When you put Herbert on he covers your entire head allowing you to to tuck the neck of the mask below your shirt collar. Kenny had way too much fun with Herbert and while this story actually happened on some random Sunday morning in the spring I always think of it at Halloween.
Back in the late 1970s there was a dumpster at the intersection of Woodrow Wilson Road (known then as Walton Road) and Highway 25, a very pleasant sight for the Freelands to see out their front door I’m sure. This particular Sunday, Kenny got up and borrowed one of his grandmother’s dresses. Aunt Ruby was a large woman, so he had to stuff the dress with several pillows to fill it out. He slipped Herbert over his head, grabbed a broom and headed out the door (I can’t remember if a wig was part of the outfit or not). I didn’t hear about this until I was at church and several people were commenting on the strange person sweeping around the dumpster. He kept this up until Mrs. Sherrie Wiggins ran off the road as she passed by on her way to Sunday school. It’s funny, there haven’t been any Herbert sightings now that Kenny has kids.
LEAVING HIS MARK. If you visit East Robertson Elementary you will find that many of the concrete blocks near the library entrance have been painted by kids. The kids are chosen to paint a block by a drawing as a Character Counts reward. Jenna got to paint one a couple of years ago. Ben’s turn came Friday. He chose to put a helicopter on his block and Vicki said it turned out really nicely. I can’t wait to see it.
BACK TO FILM. Vicki and I got a digital camera for ourselves for Christmas in 2003. It died while we were in Virginia a few weeks ago so we’ve had to pull out our old 35 mm camera. We have been planning on replacing the camera as its shutter speed is permanently set at 1/30 of a second, not good for catching kids in motion. Even so, it is a convenience to be able to see your snapshots immediately and delete the bad ones right away. While our old camera takes good pictures, going back to film has been a big adjustment. Hopefully we’ll find a deal on a camera soon.
Joe
