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“Go sit in the corner.” - Mrs. Causey, my 3rd grade teacher
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I'm beginning my Life 3.0 and this weekend was one of mile"stones" for me. I bought a car, a 2004 Pontiac Aztek. It's ugly, I know ... it's so ugly…
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About twenty years ago, I went to an old soda shop style restaurant in downtown Burlington named Zack's. Their main fare was hot dogs and Cokes in ten ounce glass…
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I bought some music online the other day from an outfit named " CD Baby ." They specialize in selling independent music of all genres and…
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You know what's great about a weekday matinee movie? Not only is it cheaper but every once in a while, you can get the whole place to yourself.
It's…
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Among the many number of things I did wrong with my two wives, I did a great many correct. It takes a lot to make a marriage work and outside…
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I was playing Scrabble yesterday and I began to wonder if they televised the Scrabble championships. They have them, you know, because I've read about them. But do they televise…
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I was young once, and with youth comes stupidity. Complete and utter stupidity, especially in your thoughts. I could usually hide this pretty well as long as I kept my…
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I pulled up to Becky's place in my Mustang and lightly tapped the horn, as she'd asked me to do. I waited. And waited. The house wasn't in the best…
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For 37 years now, I have been an extremely picky eater. I can't help it, it's just who I am. I won't eat certain foods for the stupidest reasons. What…
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If Jesus came back today, I bet he could dunk a basketball. With that whole water-to-wine, healing-the-blind, walking-on-water thing, you know dunking would be a walk in the park. Think…
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Written by Ross Cavins
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Wednesday, 31 October 2007 01:09 |
 Hallowee, a license to pretend.
Since the earliest days of my memories, pretending was part of my life. Before my sister came along when I was four, I had pretend play-friends. I remember playing with them in the sandbox, pushing the hardened cat turds around with my yellow Tonka bulldozer, pretending the entire sandbox was a construction site.
(I always wanted the write the word turd.) Pretending isn't just a part of a child's life, though, it's a part of everyone's life. We're always pretending, only as we age, we call it little white lies. We tell our girlfriend she looks great in those jeans. We pretend we're happy at our dead-end jobs. We fake our reaction when the neighbor gushes over how beautiful their new baby is.
Then one day a year, we are expected to become something we're not. We can pretend to be somebody else. We can even pretend while being ourselves and then say and do things we want to every day, but can't because societal norms won't allow us. The co-worker that comes to the Halloween party dressed like a hooker? More than likely, she didn't have to borrow those clothes. That guy who comes as the Godfather? He's always had some deep-seated psychological issues. That guy who comes in a dress and blouse? Need I comment?
 More pretending.
Americans are so pent-up most of the time from our inherited Puritan values, that I believe we've come to need this holiday more than any of the others. Sure, at Christmas, we exchange gifts and talk about loving one another in that Christmas spirit. But show me another holiday where it's accepted practice to scare the bejesus out of someone? That's the gift that keeps on giving.
I vote Halloween as America's most sacred holiday. It's probably the only one that doesn't honor a single person or actual event in our history. It exists simply to exist, a holiday that is fun for its own sake. And sometimes, that's exactly what we need.
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