Josh on Halloween

"All my life," said my husband, "I've wanted to be a suburban mom. Today is the day."

He was talking about Halloween. He had gone into the drugstore to pick up a prescription, but he had emerged with two large scarecrows, and the scarecrows had painted-on smiles.

We did a drive-by tour of local houses, and Marc was especially drawn to various blow-up dolls--Victor Frankenstein's Monster, a praying mantis, Howard Ashman's Audrey II. (Marc has since murmured about a desire to have one blow-up lawn doll "in each and every room of our home.")

The actual highlight of the evening was a small chocolate Labrador Retriever, who wore two white pillows on his back--and this lab had somehow become sandwiched between two cardboard slabs. The slabs were "graham crackers"; the lab was a "Hershey's square." The gestalt effect: a walking s'mores bar. Now, in mid-November, we continue to discuss this dog at the dinner table.

Our current reading list:

*"The Polar Express": This will never rank high in terms of character development....but: the aerial view of the sleigh! The children's faces when the bell goes missing! Divine!

*"The Miss Nelson Collection." If you've read just the first book, then you must discover the later role of Miss Nelson's twin sister, and the deeper fun James Marshall has with the idea of "a substitute teacher."

*"Arthur's Halloween." A reminder that certain houses give out bad treats. Remember: One important part of childhood is the whisper network that identifies the worthwhile candy stops.

Happy holidays to you.....

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