When Hell Freezes Over
Tonight I bought a couple of items to complete my Halloween costume. I can’t tell you the last time I dressed up for Halloween . . . probably in elementary school sometime. We never did much Halloween celebrating, really. We grew up among people who thought Halloween was a devil’s holiday (I specifically remember my sixth grade teacher talking about how more bad things happened in late October because of Satan), and because my parents aren’t big holiday people anyway, they just never made much of Halloween.*
We did, however, have imitation Halloween “Harvest” parties in the woods behind my aunt and uncle’s house. A bonfire, s’mores, candy, and you could come dressed as your favorite bible character. Most of the girls came as Queen Esther, because that’s the best costume. You could come as Ruth or Mary, but those mainly involved draping your head in cloth and wearing sandals . . . not nearly as fun as a tinfoil crown and robes. There are many other, less famous women in the bible, of course, but we didn’t really know much about them at the time . . . and some of them were mentioned because of things that they did that weren’t especially Family Harvest-party friendly. Now I think that a good costume would be Jael, who is famous for driving a tent peg through a guy’s temple. That’s about as macabre as any “Satanic” Halloween costume you could come up with, I think.
I’m not going to be a bible character for Halloween, though. Photos to come on Friday, which is work dress-up day. Today we decorated the department for the little kids who will come through tomorrow for trick-or-treating.
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No Heat Report-- Day 3
Temp. in my bedroom: 55 degrees
I don’t know when I’m going to decide that being comfortable is worth the little bit of money it would cost to turn the heat on before November 1. But I haven’t really been home much, so I’m able to stand it.
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* I was surprised when I got to college in NY to discover that many people who grew up in homes more conservative than mine went trick-or-treating as kids. I decided that Halloween just feels more sinister in Florida, because it’s still hot in October. Like hell. In the northeast, it’s just nice and chilly and blustery and pumpkin-y.
We did, however, have imitation Halloween “Harvest” parties in the woods behind my aunt and uncle’s house. A bonfire, s’mores, candy, and you could come dressed as your favorite bible character. Most of the girls came as Queen Esther, because that’s the best costume. You could come as Ruth or Mary, but those mainly involved draping your head in cloth and wearing sandals . . . not nearly as fun as a tinfoil crown and robes. There are many other, less famous women in the bible, of course, but we didn’t really know much about them at the time . . . and some of them were mentioned because of things that they did that weren’t especially Family Harvest-party friendly. Now I think that a good costume would be Jael, who is famous for driving a tent peg through a guy’s temple. That’s about as macabre as any “Satanic” Halloween costume you could come up with, I think.
I’m not going to be a bible character for Halloween, though. Photos to come on Friday, which is work dress-up day. Today we decorated the department for the little kids who will come through tomorrow for trick-or-treating.
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No Heat Report-- Day 3
Temp. in my bedroom: 55 degrees
I don’t know when I’m going to decide that being comfortable is worth the little bit of money it would cost to turn the heat on before November 1. But I haven’t really been home much, so I’m able to stand it.
---------------------------------------------------
* I was surprised when I got to college in NY to discover that many people who grew up in homes more conservative than mine went trick-or-treating as kids. I decided that Halloween just feels more sinister in Florida, because it’s still hot in October. Like hell. In the northeast, it’s just nice and chilly and blustery and pumpkin-y.
posted by Melanie at 10:34 PM
