Independent Spirits

We have a major front blowing through this afternoon and evening, and it's been raining and gusting up to 35mph all day. (For those Alaskan giggling at the idea of that as bad weather, remember we have big rigid trees with horizontal limbs down here, and termites. What passes for mild blusteriness in the land of aspens and birch instead makes for falling widowmakers taking out powerlines, the odd roof, cars both parked and moving... and with the massive leaf dump they call fall here, the streets are slick with wet windblown leaves. Kinda like wet ice, in a weird patchy way, to drive on.

The local municipalities took one look at the forecast and promptly cancelled Halloween, moving it to Friday night. I shook my head, put on the porch light, and filled the candy bowl. And they came. Not in as great a number as last year, and the young ones ran from the shelter of the car to the house and back, while the free-roaming clumps inevitably had an older brother or two herding the little ones around with a wary eye to any cars coming - and lots of costumes were looking rather the worse for wind and rain - but they came. No governmental edict or foul weather will keep an American kid from hitting up the neighbors for Halloween candy!

Tomorrow I suspect I'll see a lot less soaked costumes, and more watchful parents approving the events... and tomorrow, I'll ration the candy. Tonight, fortune favors the bold, and they can get what they want for thumbing their nose at those who would cancel trick or treat "for the children's safety."

I love America!