It seems Hallowe’en is coming both late and early this year. The local parade is on schedule — it’s coming up this Wednesday, the best parade our town has all year. Julie and I have been so busy that we’ve … Continue reading
I appreciate Hallowe’en more with each passing year. There are good reasons the holiday is so fiercely and fondly embraced in the U.S.: mainly, it’s a celebration for all ages. For the very young, it’s about masquerade and pretend; it’s … Continue reading
Here we are, on the very doorstep of Hallowe’en! The hills of western Pennsylvania are gorgeous these days. Driving into town this afternoon, I felt I was in Lothlorien, all the slopes around me aglow in yellow. What a strange … Continue reading
It’s a night of the almost-full moon; and what’s more, reportedly there was a penumbral lunar eclipse earlier this evening. We spent a good deal of time in the backyard, enjoying a good autumnal bonfire of pine logs — also … Continue reading
There’s actually a lot of unfinished business when it comes to memories of my family’s old bookstore. (For Part 1, please refer to my posting two back from this one, titled “The Back Room.”) I haven’t told you my memories … Continue reading
It’s hitting me that we’re suddenly in October again! This year it padded softly up behind me, hiding behind the green cloaks of summer, and wham! — snarl! — it bowled me over like Hobbes meets Calvin at the door. My … Continue reading
The days of October tumble down and swirl away on the breeze, just like the leaves all around. I park my car under some trees that have been dropping bushels of leaves for a good month now, and they still … Continue reading
Hallowe’en has crept early upon the Uncanny City. I’m going to kick the season off with an unsettling personal experience that is absolutely true. So pause in your pumpkin-carving, shut down the cobweb-making machine just for a moment, and pull up … Continue reading
We’ve talked before on this blog about attempts to recapture, as adults, those visceral feelings of excitement and anticipation we had as kids on the night before Christmas, lying in our dark bedrooms . . . or before our birthdays … Continue reading
I must have been very young, because I was sleeping in the small, pale-purple bedroom, the dimmest room of our dark, light-eating house. That was the first room I slept in as a baby, when my bed still had fence … Continue reading