Hallowe'en
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Puck was still figuring out who could call whom by what title. So on the way to church…
“Daddy can say ‘Collette’ to Mama.”
Church was the ordinary Reformation pomp and circumstance, which was truly nothing more than the four ‘Sola’ banners and a whopping nine-person choir.
Later, Collette met Puck’s ‘Baby Church’ teacher of the morning in the hall.
“I just had to tell you,” she said. “Puck had us pray for ‘his grumpies’ in Children’s Church this morning. You never would have known he was grumpy though. He was so cute about it…”
Apparently he had also told his Sunday School teachers the same thing…
Back at the house, all the boys were out on the picnic table carving pumpkins. OLeif, of course, had to carve the face where the stem acted as the nose. And Puck sat amongst them and happily watched on.
Butterfingers.
Everyone had returned from their respective services for dinner around a table of black taper candles.
Then while the usual nappers napped, conversation in the living room centered mostly around houses in South City and Turkish male belly dancers… which was an entirely different can of worms in itself…
After 2:30…
Atletico had tied another game.
OLeif departed for Chesterfield Pres. for a 3:00 rehearsal.
Everyone else got into the big old green thing and drove out to Krispy Kreme in Florissant, for three large boxes of glazed, chocolate glazed, chocolate cake, Hallowe’en sprinkled glazed, and jack ‘o lantern-faced donuts.
While they waited for Mom and Francis to return with the boxes, Dad browsed his new Kindle, and purchased the entire three hundred collected works of Mark Twain for $2.99. Rose was very enthusiastic.
And Puck talked about ‘the bad guys’…
“My dad is strong and rough and he would punch them,” he said seriously.
On the way back, Puck heard something about the boogie man…
“My dad would get him,” he said. “He’s strong and rough and he has gu… Mama? Does Daddy have guns?”
And Mom and Dad had struck up a chorus of On the Street Where You Live, with Joe joining in the background.
“Martin! Rhythm, rhythm!” Mom scolded him, laughing.
Meanwhile, back on the ranch…
Dad was off to get pizza at Little Caesar’s, whose mascot was dancing around out by the road as usual, dressed appropriately as, of course, a ghost…
Mom was preparing the front porch with the little fire in the glass box for all the trick or treaters.
Linnea played Club Penguin while Puck squeezed in beside her on the love seat and read Curious George.
Then back where everyone ate dinner over I Love Lucy.
Six o’clock rapidly approached.
Rose bundled up in her Indian blanket and joined Mom on the porch with all the jack ‘o lanterns and orange lights where Francis and Puck were burning pumice rocks.
Puck slipped on his dragon costume for the second time and grabbed his jack ‘o lantern candy bag in which he put a strobe light to make it glow. Collette promised herself not to scavenge too much of his hard-earned treats… yeah right.
And Linnea joined him later as the rice farmer with fur vest.
The night was right for it. Bands of blue-violet and gray and blue smoke in the sky, just as the stars came out. Very quiet as they headed out into the chill breezes. For a time, they saw no one else in the streets. But as they continued on, the friendly neighbors’ patio fires and jack ‘o lanterns were visited by packs of hooligans.
Once Puck visited the first house on the corner, he had quickly learned the drill.
“CAAAAANDYYYYY!!!”
And he was off like a shot, with the Vietnamese rice farmer hurrying behind to catch up.
At one house, a ring of adults sat around on the patio, each with their own bucket of candy to hand out. Jack pot. They had just seen the Wizard of Oz crew come through, with the scarecrow mumbling something about ‘every time I get close to a fire…’
“Oh, what kind of dragon are you?” one of the ladies asked Puck.
Puck, who had already received his candy and was walking back down the driveway, called over his shoulder…
“Green.”
And they all laughed.
When the bags of candy were about to burst, it was back to the house where the boys were involved in creating, what they called, ‘A Double Fire’ in Mom’s chiminea. They had had no visiting trick-or-treaters. But it hardly seemed to matter. Francis had carried over the Adirondack chairs. Carrie had put together a Hallowe’en mix for Joe’s iPod deck, and with all the candles, jack ‘o lanterns, strobe lights, and blankets to wrap up in, it turned out to be a very nice place to sit and watch the fire and Joe put on a dance show. Even Dad, who was busy with his comprehensive final, came out.
Meanwhile, between Puck trying to sneak candy and donuts, he hurried inside…
“Onion! Where’s my red cellphone that you gave to me? I have to call Jesus so he can protect us!”
Where he got such things…
Nearing eight o’clock, OLeif returned from the Reformation service, which he said went very well.
On the way back out to the car, Puck thought about something…
“When I’m bigger, I can call Daddy ‘OLeif’ too?”
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