Halloween! Hurry!

Looks like Halloween is starting a bit early this year. I have been seeing spooooky decorations around since before the fall actually started. Normally you don't see much during September. I think there's a reason for this.

Of course I mean the Chinese Death Virus. Because of that, September lost its usual theme around here as Back to School. Many kids have not gone back to school, and those that have are experiencing changing start dates, tons of at-home e-learning days, schedules that don't align with those of kids in their own classes, cancellations of traditional activities, and all kinds of issues that have made September a sad version of its formerly robust School Daze self. So, let's call it a wash and go to October. 

Plus, a lot of kids being home more than usual, and their parents still being home more than usual, can lead to the former irritating the latter, so why not get the kids busy on Halloween / Autumn seasonal decorations? Something to do, and maybe if people aren't coming down with the Wuhan Blight in large numbers in a month's time, the children will be too busy with school things to make pumpkin drawings and scarecrows. Get them done now.

Another reason for the rush on Halloween is that, consciously or not, I think we're all trying to shoo 2020 out the door as fast as we can. There's no guarantee that things will change for the better next year, but with three months on the clock this one looks like a disaster; move the holidays along, drop the virtual ball, and let's get on with next year. 

Meanwhile: A friend of ours who LOVES Halloween is already excited, but he's the kind of guy who thinks spooky thoughts in the middle of May. He's jonesing for the 12-foot skeleton that Home Depot is selling. I saw it in person the last time I was in the Depot, and it is genuinely impressive. 

I thought we could get one, have it leer at the mean neighbor's bedroom window. And when Halloween was over, put a big Pilgrim hat on it. A Santa hat for Christmas. Bunny ears for Easter. A sombrero for Cinco de Mayo. The thing is three hundred bucks; get the most out of it! My wife liked the idea but suspected the police would get involved.

Anyway, if you want to be scary, you can be scary in Christmas, too. This snowman, hidden in a basement not my own, shocked me. It looks like Frosty the Cursed Spirit. But maybe it's the perfect decoration for Christmas 2020.