Vol. 72, October 31st, 2023 Published a day early online
For the audio version of this post, visit the podcast, or click below.
Trick Or Treat
Halloween Through The Years
Einstein is wrong. His equations don’t account for the slowing of the sun on Halloween afternoon. 6 pm took forever to arrive when I was a kid. When dusk finally fell, out I’d bound with werewolf fur glued to my face (superglue would have been more practical), or fake fangs hanging over my lip, feet sometimes in monster shoes, crunching through the dry leaves in search of candy.
What a night! The delight in scaring the neighbor girl is still vivid in my mind. ROAR! But the comedic costumes were the most fun.
With colander helmets and brooms substituting for rifles, I was a member of the “Army Aunts” (Ants) platoon, Sgt. Mildred at your service.
Another year, The Funny Bones made their comic debut, the Urban brothers transformed into wisecracking skeletons.
The pinnacle of the family costumes was when I went as my father. So did my brother, and my other brother, and my mom, and even the man himself (he’s a good sport). All five of us, in various dress–I was Work Dad.
Such fine memories of prowling under October skies, eating too much sugar. Trick or treat!
The Legend of Stingy Jack
Stingy Jack the Irishman tricked the Devil three times. God wouldn’t let Jack into heaven, and the Devil wasn’t keen on having him in hell, so Jack forever wanders the moors and bogs with an ember in a carved turnip, the original Jack ‘o Lantern.
On Halloween in 1964…
Barbara Streisand’s “People” album goes #1 for the fifth week. Now that’s scary!
Quote of the Week
“I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color.”
–Wednesday Addams
Share Your Story
What’s your favorite Halloween memory? Best costume? Send us a story! PO Box 783, Rustburg, VA 24588 or Joshurban@Protonmail.com
Letters from Josh
(A weekly update from Josh Urban’s adventures on the farm and in the city. #158)
Appearing in the Altavista Journal: Late Night Radio “Autumn Nostalgia”
Howdy, folks, and welcome back to the show. “It’s Fall, Y’all” flags are everywhere. Have you noticed the other sights, too? It’s a beautiful season, and even the Virginia Creeper vines are joining in the display.
I went to see the bees the other day, keeping a distance. With only three stings in this second season of beekeeping, I’m still wary. The critters are growing on me, though.
“Hello, bees.” They ignored me. Floating in and out of their white houses, they gathered the last of the nectar, filling the air with a drowsy buzz. There’s a few aster flowers blooming by the creek, and the pineapple sage is still going strong in the garden.
Autumn blazes, the victory dance of a good summer. The sassafras is a brilliant pink and orange by the railroad track, but golden yellow up in the Shenandoah mountains. Like the bees, I’ve been roaming, too, taking a weekend trip to the blue ridge.
A cloud got stuck on the peak one afternoon, muffling everything with a gray mist, but the oaks and maples burned like lanterns through the gloom. The wind prowled around the cabin that night like a mountain lion. By morning, the blue skies were back, with peak color and a million tourists from the city, all gawking at the sight and waving their phone cameras around. Spruce trees stood tall in the heights, daring Old Man Winter to wake up and do something about it.
Down in the valley, people stopped for apples, the way apples are meant to be. The road back south wound among the feet of the mountains, passed through little towns and over bridges, back towards home in a fine country style.
There’s something so nostalgic about the season, isn’t there? Even the light has that amber hue of a photograph, illuminating the hickories and cut hay fields. It fades earlier and earlier, yielding to the streetlights in the early dusk. Little ghosts and goblins take to the sidewalks to shake down the neighbors with an irresistible “Trick or treat!”
Not too many years ago, I went back to my parents’ house one Halloween, and noticed the neighbor’s lit porch-light. The call of the past was too much, and up the steps I went, a grown man, smiling back at the jack-o’-lantern lurking by the decorative cabbage. A knock, and a hello. “Thanks for all the candy...and the memories.” Everyone moved away a short time later, but the scene remains in my mind. I’m glad I got the chance to say thank you.
Yes, it’s been a good year, with a green spring, gracious summer, and golden fall. The stream by the back pasture flowed under the red sourwood, and carried a few of the dry sycamore leaves off towards the lake, going, going, gone. The bees droned on. Maybe they’ve found the last of the clover. Soon, it’ll be flowering anew.
Catch you on the flip side,
Josh