There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.

~George Carlin


It has been a long time since I made an entry here - I wish I could say it was because I was too busy with fascinating pursuits; there have been many, but that is not the reason. I was lazy. But that aside I also just could not seem to be properly inspired - and that being the case decided not to push it onto my readership. That is behind me now, and I am hot in pursuit of the arcane.


Halloween is upon us. I really did miss most of the summer, and the fact that this first event of the Season of Gluttony is arrived tells me that I need to get into form. Literally. I looked at the scale this morning, and I am at the weight I should be AFTER the Season of Gluttony. I have not even had a Peanut Butter Cup yet.


Mary and I used to give Halloween parties. These tended to be grand, unabashed soirees filled with costumes, dancing and a punch we used to make that consisted of roasted apples and alcohol. All I remember is that it was a lot like drinking thin applesauce, but with a massive kick - which explained a lot of the dancing. Of course, that was in the day when our friends had fewer ties of their own - no children to walk around the neighborhood, and none of them owned houses they felt the need to stay home to protect from roving vandals.


In the course of those parties we often would interrupt the bacchanalia just long enough to require everyone to carve a pumpkin - a dangerous event considering the mixture of implements, apple-punch and sloppy pumpkin guts which all too often we would find months later glued to the ceiling. Over the years the events lessened, but Mary and I do still celebrate - albeit more quietly.


Now the big holiday for us has moved to Thanksgiving - a series of events centered - once again - on a preponderance of food. The fact that this holiday falls in the middle of the Season of Gluttony is better suited to our current lifestyle, as it is less likely to catch us off-guard as has the event of Halloween this year. With a crowd of friends and loved ones, we try to mix the talents and interests to give the best opportunity for lively debate. We do love debate.


Why the world shys from a discussion among people sharing differing views is beyond me - if lines were always so clearly delineated, what a boring and simpleminded world we'd be in. And then all that would be left of the Glorious Season of Gluttony would be the hangover.

How sad.