Two things made Halloween special this year.
It didn’t rain or snow, and the clocks didn’t change back until Sunday morning so trick and treaters could make their rounds in dry daylight.
I had no T&Ts last year and that wasn’t any fun so this year I went to son No. 3’s house, which is in a high traffic area on Halloween. Only 197 customers at the door, down from other years.
Fewer masks, many painted faces, some were works of art. There was a wide variety of costumes, from Ninja Turtles to zombies and many little princesses. One lad had a “Happy Halloween” sign. A goodly number of the adults accompanying the little ones were dressed up too. Couldn’t help noticing how polite everyone was, many thank yous.
There were some innovative treats too, little tubs of play dough, packages of ramen noodles among the candy and bags of cheezies and chips. I heard there were some young techies out and about advising each other via cell phone which houses were giving out the best stuff. I didn’t see the fireworks but I understand the shows here and at the 150 were awesome.
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And now it’s November, not my favourite month. November looks dowdy and dismal and acts sulky and shifty. You can’t count on it for anything.
According to those who keep track, 2015 has a 97 per cent chance of being the world’s hottest year on record. I don’t know where Cariboo Chilcotin fits in. We used to have seven distinct seasons, Fall, Indian Summer, Freezeup, Winter, Breakup, Spring and Summer. Each had its own ideas regarding timing and length, e.g. winter was always too long and summer too short. Fall began in September and the rest followed more or less in line. We still have seasons but they keep changing. Last winter couldn’t make up its mind and kept springing away then coming back. November is a season of its own. The blah season. Having Christmas marketing start before Remembrance Day does nothing to enhance it either.
Diana French is a freelance columnist for the Tribune. She is a former Tribune editor, retired teacher, historian, and book author.