Memories of Halloween

Believe it or not, I’m old enough to actually remember Halloween! The real one, not the watered down politically correct version that we (don’t, can’t, aren’t allowed to) enjoy now. Anyway, I grew up in the sixties, and without any fact checking, allow me to tell you a few of my childhood memories or at least the way I recall them. Forgive me if I get any of the details wrong.

I remember how we dressed up to go trick-or-treating! We wore those cheap little flimsy costumes that we bought at TG&Y. They probably cost 2 or 3 dollars at the most and they lasted through the big night and a few days of play after that. The little plastic masks (most likely made of some toxic material) were the worst! Regardless of the temperature, you sweated like crazy and the things just stuck to your face like glue. Until the rubber band broke and the wind blew it off down the street. Despite the smell and the sweat, you’d pull the rubber band tight and poke a hole in the side of the mask and tie it back together, so you could wear it some more. And of course, it got tighter and more uncomfortable each time. The self-torture of Halloween as a child!

There were lots of devils and witches and ghosts and monsters, but nobody seemed to think we were all going to hell for it. There were also plenty of cowboys and Indians and nobody got offended and felt the need to protest. It was make believe. Harmless fun. I always preferred the superhero costumes myself. Superman and Batman mostly, with a towel held by a clothespin as my cape. And of course, a plain brown paper sack for the goodies!

We waited for dark and for Dad to come home so we could prowl the neighborhood. The actual neighborhood. Where we actually lived. We made it up our block and maybe to the next one over depending on whether or not Dad thought our bags were full enough and then we came home to compare our candy treasures and eat as much as Mom would allow before making us stop for the night. (By the nineties, as a parent, I was taking my kids to the mall and the local schools and churches for the “Trunk or Treat” and “Harvest Festival” events, but that’s a whole nother story!)

I’m sure there were some scary movies around back then, but more than likely, we would watch nothing more frightening than the Charlie Brown special and our biggest fear would then be getting a rock in our bags instead of candy. We didn’t fear getting a piece of candy with a needle or a razor blade, or some such insanity. We feared getting fruit or some other non-chocolate item. It was definitely a simpler time.

Regardless of when the date fell on the calendar, NOBODY wore their costumes to school. Or even thought about it. The anonymity of the street you lived on under the cover of darkness was one thing, but to show up at school in the daytime wearing a Halloween costume? Could you be more uncool? Maybe it was just where I grew up, but I never understood that. (I did have to deal with the issue as a school administrator a time or two. Still don’t get it!)

Anyway, that’s probably enough nostalgia for now. So, be safe out there and enjoy the holiday. I really do wish that today’s children could experience an old-fashioned Halloween, but I suppose those days are gone for good. Maybe if your kids (or grandkids) are still young enough, you could sit them down and tell them a few stories of your own.

Impeachment Frenzy, More from the Unhinged Left

It’s been a long time since I sat in a classroom and learned about government and civics and all that stuff. BUT… even I know that impeachment is meant to be a rare occurrence reserved for truly serious matters. AND … I know you can’t just impeach an elected official, especially a President, just because you hate him and you’re still mad he won the election.

I say all this just to clarify, maybe even educate some folks. I am truly surprised at the vast number of people who are totally ignorant on the subject. (Yet rant about it anyway!) Apparently, most of Liberals (on social media) actually believe that their simple majority in one chamber of Congress will allow them to remove a duly elected President of the United States. So let’s back up, slow down, and actually examine the impeachment process.

First of all, the House of Representatives, currently under Democratic control, CAN start the process IF they honestly believe that the President has committed “high crimes and misdemeanors.” I personally don’t really think that most of the Democrats in the House believe Donald Trump has committed ANY crimes, but that certainly hasn’t stopped them. Just the fact that they have begun the process based on an unsubstantiated “whistleblower” complaint (contradicted by an actual transcript), tells you all you really need to know.

And of course, that followed two years of screaming about impeachment – again with no actual proof of any crimes (despite the millions wasted by Mueller), but then, Democrats have been known to proudly proclaim that their truth is more important than your facts.

Anyway, with enough votes, the House can file Articles of Impeachment which are then sent to the Senate. That’s right, kids! President Trump can be impeached by the House and still remain President! Shocker, right? (At this point, many are questioning whether or not Nancy Pelosi is even bothering with the process. She has yet to call for a full vote and has the “investigation” being conducted by Adam Schiff and the Intelligence Committee behind closed doors and hidden from even fellow members of Congress. Historically, the Judiciary Committee has been responsible for conducting an impeachment investigation, but why waste a chance to let Trump-Hater Adam run things?)

The Senate, currently controlled by the Republicans, is then charged with holding a trial presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. You know, presenting actual evidence to decide if any crimes have really been committed. The 100 Senators serve as jurors and if the President is convicted, he may then be removed from office. Historically, only two Presidents have been impeached and both were acquitted in the Senate trial. The latest was Bill Clinton.

Speaking of Bill, I highly recommend Ann Coulter’s excellent book High Crimes and Misdemeanors. Speaking of actual crimes! Good thing he was a Liberal Democrat. Otherwise, he might have actually been held accountable!

So, there you have it in a nutshell. Articles of Impeachment -> Senate Trial -> Guilt or Innocence -> Removal from office (or not). And did I forget to mention that conviction by the Senate requires a 2/3 super-majority? A really good safeguard against one political party having the power to oust a legitimately elected President. You know, the one elected by the People. (The People who did not want another Clinton in the White House.) Just saying!

Free Stuff - Liberals, Socialism, and Changing Attitudes

If you’ve listened at all to the countless number of Democrats running for President, you know that they are in a huge hurry to see who can offer the most free stuff in exchange for your votes. According the Left and their new (same old) brand of Socialism, everybody has a right to get stuff for free, paid for by the rich people of this country which somehow sooner or later includes the middle class and everyone else who pays taxes as well.

I grew up believing that as an American, I had the basic human right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. You know, those inalienable rights bestowed by our Creator. I can barely keep a straight face when I hear people today including such basic rights as free housing, free cars and phones, free college, free health care, and whatever else they can imagine. Bestowed, of course, by our benevolent Government. Maybe we should be doing a better job of teaching history these days.

Hearing all this nonsense on a daily basis is already causing a change in attitude among many people and not in a good way. Working at a local hotel, I see an almost daily effort by somebody to secure a free room. Any excuse will do. No pool? I shouldn’t have to pay for my room. The TV remote didn’t work, I should get a refund. The (actually FREE) breakfast was cold, or didn’t taste good, or whatever. I should get my room for free. And they are serious!

It’s a scary thing to see your culture fall apart before your very eyes at such an alarming rate. I have two adult children who currently spend a significant amount of money each month repaying student loans. Once upon a time, they, like many others, chose to take on this future debt to pay for college. Stuck in the middle class, too poor to pay outright, too wealthy to qualify for assistance, they had to make do with the merit based scholarships that paid only a fraction of the total, then take out student loans to cover the rest.

If a future Democrat President waves a magic wand and makes college free and makes vanish the loan debts of millions, will they pay back the money my kids and tons of others have paid over the years? Of course not! My kids are grown and already part of the country’s workforce, so they won’t be getting any loan forgiveness or refunds from the government. Instead they will be expected to help pay for all that free stuff that isn’t really free at all, including paying for someone else to go to school or not having to pay back their student loans.

Maybe what we really need to do is be more honest with our language. Instead of free health care, let’s call it what it really is – taxpayer funded health care. Free college? Nope. Taxpayer funded college. And so on. You get the picture.

So let’s be very clear. There is no free lunch! Nothing is free. Somebody is actually paying for all of these “free” benefits. And it’s not the government. The truth is the government has no money of its own. Those wonderful politicians promising all this free stuff aren’t paying for any of this. As a matter of fact, most of them are drawing a salary from the same source – the American taxpayer. Maybe it’s time for the taxpayers to have a little more say about how our money is being spent. Maybe at the ballot box.

Return to Eastlake: More Small Town Tales

I finished the second round of edits on the newest book this week and handed if off to a few trusted beta-readers for their input. Not as scary as the previous times, but still a bit nerve-wracking. It’s hard to put your work out there hoping for kind words, fearing the opposite, exposing all the insecurities that go along with being a writer, or a singer, or an artist, or pretty much anyone willing to express themselves creatively.

Honestly, I go back and forth between the pride of accomplishment and the certainty that it’s all crap. No lie. Sometimes when I read my words, I truly believe that the stories are good and powerful and I’m caught up in the emotions they carry. At other times, I read passages that sound boring or childish or simplistic, and I wonder why I ever thought I could be a writer.

And yet … there is evidence:

And when I see the actual books, I am immensely proud of each one I have published. They may not be best-sellers by any stretch of the imagination, but they are the works of my own labor, and the finished products are tangible proof of my efforts.

So, I keep going. I am optimistic enough to have written a sequel to a book that very few people have actually read! And now that I am working again, I am finding it much harder to devote the time to writing and revising and editing. Originally, I had hopes of publishing this one in August. Now, I’m shooting for Christmas. Say a prayer!

Okay, now for the real reason for this post – I need opinions on the new book cover. For some reason, finishing the cover is a huge motivator for me. I suppose, it helps me envision the book as a real object and not just some random computer file. I have two self-imposed requirements.

First, I want the cover to have a recognizable connection with the previous book. I know this sounds like bragging (it is), but I absolutely love that cover. It is definitely my favorite of the three I’ve done so far. I want the same look and feel for the new one.

Second, it needs to be different enough to not be confused with original. So there you go, similar, but not too similar, right? Here they are side by side:

                              

Take a moment or two and let me know what you think. It’s only a rough draft, so don’t be afraid to be brutally honest! Thanks.