Some Advice This Halloween

A reminder…lots of bloggers are such big time dog people.  Keep chocolate way out of Poochie Poo’s reach, ya hear?  Take it from your Sista…if you don’t and Misses Pudelhund dips into the Kit Kats or Butterfingers, you will spend an ungodly amount of time at the Emergency Vet Clinic and more money than you care to spend. 

Our late little Chloe dog decided she needed her chocolate fix a couple days after Halloween 2003.  She must’ve eaten a bunch.  She puked here, there and everywhere and liked to have checked out then.  She spent the night at the Rivergate Pet Clinic after a nice, Charcoal Cocktail.  It was not pretty. 

Moral of the story…listen to your Auntie Sista.  Keep the chocolate treats away from the doggies.

Pumpkin Patch Pitchyas

As promised…here’s pictures from the First Annual Smiff Fall Family Fun Fest, By Gawd…You have to click on the pictures to see them good.  If somebody knows the Typepad secret to making pictures to where you can see them, let me know.

Here in this photo, we have two, old goats. 

They had a tire swing in the shape of a horse.  Very cute.  #2 hates loud noises and he’s got his hands in his ears because the train/haywagon was coming by, with the whistle blowing.

#1 Son and the Attack of the Killer Gourds…He had a fit over the gourds in the pumpkin patch.   

The Pumpkin Patch was a little low on pumpkins, being it was the last weekend before Halloween, but, there were still plenty for us to pick over.

The Smiffs have their own version of Drama Llama.  Ask Kerry Woo. Look at the scenery in the background…isn’t it purty?                    

The driver of the hay wagon had a little helper along the way.                

    #1 Son made it through the Hay Maze before the rest of us and he laughed as  his mother tried to find her way through.

       The mini Hainted House was fun.

                     

Happy Halloween!    (This was at the place I spent $21 on two pumpkins.  All the crap #2 is standing by is why the pumpkins were so expensive.  Remind me not to go back there next year.)

We Wish You A Merry Halloween and a Happy All Saints Day….

I had this weird urge to make pumpkin bread this morning.  I’m not into baking, but, it seemed appropriate on All Hallow’s Eve.  It’s good stuff and it makes the house smell like fall. I have an extra loaf if anybody wants it.

I got Halloween candy too.  I give out good stuff.  None of that cheapo crapola candy from Sista.  I give chocolate things because chocolate is important in life.  I have Reese’s Pieces, Nutrageous, this one bag had a bunch of different stuff in it like Butterfingers, Baby Ruth, Crunch, Whoppers, I got some Kissables…got a little bit of everything.

I was carving the Daughter’s pumpkin and my handy dandy saw broke.  I hope they have some more up at the Kroger cause I’m lost without my handy dandy saw.  I also got a piece of pumpkin or juice in my eye and it’s swelling up to look really lovely.  I could make that part of my costume, but, then I never dress up for Halloween. 

I’m still considering dressing like Little Edie, but, most in my neighborhood would have no idea who I was, plus, my daughter probably wouldn’t allow it.

I always think about my friend Kent on Halloween.  Kent was my first openly gay friend and he LOVED Halloween.  Every year when there would be a party, he’d dress up and not only would he dress up, he would become the character.  One year, he was Batman and he was totally in Batman character the whole night.  The next year, he was Robin and he became Robin the whole time.  Man, I miss him.

Blaming It All…On The Nights On Broadway

Whilst it’s fresh on my mind, I better blog about Broadway Meets Country.  Having two of my favorite kinds of music mixin’ and a’minglin was everything I wanted it to be.

Petah Gallagher…geez louise….he is some kinda p-u-rTEE. A great MC he is not, but, to have the priviledge to look at him with my own two eyes, in person and in good seats was a great way to spend a Monday night.  He shared co-hosting duties with Babsy Mandrell and really, I couldn’t figure out why they had hosts because they had a voice over the PA announce most of the acts. Maybe it was to make it more Broadway-ee.  Who knows.  Babsy looked great in her smart, blue suit.

There were some definite standouts of the evening and some that really made no impression at all.  Thing is, these Broadway people are extremely talented and I do admire the heck out of theater performers, but, in a setting like this, there were a couple of them who could not turn off that, for lack of a better word, Broadwayish "snap."  You know…the way they snap their head back and snap their fingers at the same time.  The two who were just too damn Broadwayish were Felicia Finley and Renee Elise Goldsberry.  Both girls have great, trained voices and are obvious pros. Still, they were annoying as hell to watch.

Felicia has the flattest stomach I’ve ever seen on anyone in person, dang her.  She sang Islands In The Stream with Clay Walker.  It was nice, but, as I said above, she’s too Broadway for her own good.  Now the Renee Elise girl, who is said to have been a regular on One Life To Live is absolutely gorgeous and has a great voice.  She did Heads Carolina, Tails California and it was about the most soul-less, whitest performance of the whole night (and she’s black!). 

Laura Bell Bundy totally wrecked (and not in a good way) Jackson with Raul Malo.  I bet he wanted to slap her.  Then, she turned around and tore up All Jacked Up.  I guess she kinda made up for ruining the other song.  ‘Tween you and me, I think she spent all her time practicing her Gretchen song. 

Ben Vereen…he did a bang up job on Wichita Lineman and even threw in a soft shoe. 

Not surprisingly, Raul Malo and Trisha Yearwood totally nailed their numbers…Raul did Bring Him Home from Les Miserables and Trisha did Somewhere from West Side Story.  Both of them are amazing vocalists.  Only thing is somebody apparently has never told Trisha that chubby girls like us have no bidness wearing sleeveless, backless dresses.  It just ain’t fittin’.  I guess when you’re Mrs. Garth Brooks and a millionaire-ess and all, you can do whatever you want.

There were two surprises on the country end…one was Broadway guy Brian d’Arcy James and Nashville Star winner Chris Young dueted on You’re Nothing Without Me from City of Angels. I think that Chris has done some showtunes before.  That was probably one of my favorite performances of the whole night and I was not expecting it to be.  And I just read that Brian is going to play Dr. Frankenstein in the Broadway production of Young Frankenstein!

The other surprise was a singer named Joanna Cotten who is signed with Warner Brothers.  I’ve never heard of her before but that girl TORE UP What I Did For Love from A Chorus Line.  Whoa nellie!

Another one of the Broadway singers I dug was Julia Morney. You can tell she’s sung with bands before and has sung a variety of music.  She was the most comfortable and soulful of the Broadway people…I thought.

Lee Ann Womack opened the show with Don’t Rain On My Parade and she started out good, but, then she forgot words and her timing seemed a little off….same with Joe Nichols, timing wise…he did Luck Be A Lady and vocally, it was good, but, timing was eh…his hair is beginning to look like Gene Simmons ‘do.

Oh yeah…The Grascals did River In The Rain from Big River and it was great.  Not much of a stretch for them, musically, but, it came off very good and the crowd dug them.

The cast of the touring production of The Lion King closed the show and I’ll be Mufasa’s Mama, but, I’ve got to go see that while it’s in town.  Good grief…Can’t Help Falling In Love With You.  I’ve never heard it done like that before….geez. 

Oh! Oh! Oh!  I met this man named Joe (couldn’t hear his last name) but according to Mr. Smiff, is a bigshot in Broadway production and was instrumental in getting the Broadway performers for this show.  He took up with the Grascals (as did Ben Vereen) and he was telling me how he is going to the opening night of Grey Gardens on Broadway this Thursday night and that Christine Ebersole (who I saw on The View this morning) is a good friend of his…funny, he was impressed that we knew Earl Scruggs and I was knocked out that he’s going to see the play based on my new favorite character, Little Edie.  Funny how it’s all in the perspective.

No Way?!

Mr. Smiff says Peter Gallagher is a little feller.  About Ben Vereen’s height…5’6 or 5’7.  I know lots of celebrities are short but dang…

Lordy, Lordy

I know more people who have turned 40 this year.  I’m so glad I’m not that old (yet).  I know my time is coming, but, I can probably count 20 people I know directly who have turned 40 in 2006.  1966 was a good year.

  Another one we can add to the Fabulous and Forty list is my real life sister who, today, crosses that threshold from the 30’s into the 40’s.   

Yes, the one who used to convince me I had a booger on my face, when I didn’t,the one who convinced me I had buck teeth, the one who used to take great delight in sitting on me, the one who told me that the red pepper flakes at Lorenzo’s were bacon bits and gleefully encouraged me to take a big ol handful,the one who used to say "You think you sound like Marie Osmond", the one who made Mr. Smotherman, the 8th grade math teacher, hate me as soon as he found out I was her younger sister (she had a tendency to talk a little in class)…

Maybe someday we’ll end up like these sisters. I like to think we’re more like these sisters, these or even these sisters. The reality is though we’re probably most  like these sisters.

I hope she can figure out a way to whoop it up and celebrate this big birthday milestone.  I think she’s graduated to a protein shake in her current journey so maybe they can put a candle in it.  I’m sure the Engineering Brother in Law will figure some keen way to usher in her 40’s that doesn’t involve food. 

So…Sister…in honor of your 40th birthday, I will sing a little song, just for you.  Ahem:

Late one cold and stormy night I heard a dog a’barkin….(Hee hee…Me and Little Andy makes her cry.  I used to torment her with it.

Ready For His Closeup

   

Some shots of #2’s on-camera debut. He was quite at home in front of the camera.  He hasn’t been too demanding thus far with his new status as a "celebrity."  He still plays with Transformers and watches Ed, Edd and Eddy. The show airs on November 19 on CMT.

Here’s #2 getting ready for his closeup with Grandma and producer Shane Caldwell.      

Dad and some of the Grascals made an appearance on the show, too.  Here’s Mr. Smiff, Terry Eldredge, honorary Grascal for the moment, brother in law Smiff, aka Billy, Jamie Johnson and Dave Talbot.    (I don’t know how to make the pictures bigger on here.  Click on them and you can see them real good)

The One About the Big Wienies

Turns out I didn’t go to the Broadway Meets Country Dinner.  Long story you don’t want to hear.  I’m bummed, but, I’ll get over it, plus, I can hopefully go see the show tomorrow night.  That is, if the planets line up and something works out in my favor.

To turn a little humor on, this is what happens when you put hot dogs on the stove to cook and then you leave the room after you cut the fire off, thinking you’ll come back in a minute, but, since you got your attention on something else, you forgot about the hot dogs and now they look like…..well…you be the judge.

Fall Family Fun Frenzy

With Mr. Smiff having a rare Saturday home, I decided that it was going to be "Smiff Fall Family Fun Frenzy"  I told my kids Friday evening that we were going to do something together, as a family and we were going to enjoy it, dammit!  Whether we wanted to or not we were going to engage in family bonding.

So, Mr. Smiff got back in off the road about 11 Saturday morning and we decided we’d skip the oh-so boring school carnival and go to one of those pumpkin patch/farm things.  So, we all piled into the Family Truckster and headed up New Shackle Island Rd. towards White House….destination Bottom View Farm in Portland.

I don’t know if the leaves in Sumner County are officially peaking or what, but, they are really beautiful now.  The views up to Portland were really quite breathtaking. 

Bottom View Farm is just off Portland Rd, bordering on Cottontown.  I don’t know how many acres these people have, but, it’s huge.  They have made a darling little town/village that has a jail, a saloon, a barbershop…really cute.   They have all sorts of farm animals; chickens, turkeys, rabbits, goats, cows, horses, llamas, donkeys (it smells grand up there!).  They even had some peacocks and ginnys.  They have this one goat that runs loose and he went after #2 and he screamed bloody murder. 

This was the first time in my life I have ever been in one of those hay mazes.  They have a cool playground and a slide fashioned out of some sort of piping and an Indian teepee.  (I will not call it "Native American…sue me)  We also got on a hay wagon that was fixed to look like a train and road all over the farm to the pumpkin patch where we got to pick out a little pumpkin.  They were all out of bigger pumpkins. 

Even our teens had a good time, but, neither will admit it.  I kept telling the kids to soak up the beautiful colors on the trees.  They rolled their eyes.  It was a perfect day to go out there.  After all the rain, the sky was as blue as I’ve ever seen it and everything just seemed shiny and sparkly.

We left Bottom View and headed back towards Gallatin.  We covered Sumner County pretty good yesterday and I have to say…we live in one of the most gorgeous counties in the state.  I didn’t realize it was so hilly up in the county like that.  We drove through some beautiful terrain.   We ended up eating at CiCi’s Pizza and #2 had it in his head he wanted to try pizza with anchovies.  Guess how that turned out?

#2 and I went and got a couple of bigger pumpkins to carve.  I paid $21 for TWO pumpkins.  I should’ve refused.  At Bottom View, when they don’t run out, they charge $3 for big pumpkins. Remind me next year not to do that.  That’s insane.

It was a great day.  It really was.  I wish we had more days like that to kick around with Dad. I think the words "shut up" were only uttered about half of what they usually are.  It was great.  I’ll put pictures up tomorrow.

Now,  the fashion maven I’m not, I have to go throw some sort of outfit to wear to this dinner at the Hall of Fame tonight for the Broadway thing.  No clue what I’m going to wear.  Maybe I can find a sweater and broach to wrap around my head.

The Costume of the Day

I have had a ball watching the documentary Grey Gardens tonight. Rosie recommended it to me.  Maybe not personally, but, she was talking about it on The View this week. (Oh mah gawsh…listen to me!)  It’s one of those things that’s so pitiful, yet, you can’t take your eyes off of it.  How in the world I’ve never heard of these two Beale women before is beyond me. In a nutshell, the documentary (made in 1975 before we ever heard of Reality tv) is about a mother and a daughter who live in squalor in the East Hamptons. The mother was the sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ father.  It’s really something to see.   They’ve done a Broadway show about Big and Little Edie and now there’s a movie in the works.  Can’t wait.  Rent it.  Go see the website.

I know I’m probably waaaay behind on this and all this is probably so old, yesterday kinda cool news, but, to quote Little Edie, "I’m simply MAD about it."

Babs

After CLC’s brilliant, satirical offering of today, I’m a little paranoid to write about yet another country star I’ve had moments with. But, still, I must talk about another one today cause I just saw her on tv and it got my head all a’spinning. Plus, I just may be dining with her tomorrow night. 

Let’s talk about Barbara Mandrell, shall we?

Y’know…she’s quite deserving of the tribute album.  Vocally, Patsy Cline she was not, however, she cut some good songs.  I’m partial to The Midnight Oil.  It’s a nawtee, nawtee cheatin’ song of which makes country music great.  I dig me some Treat Him Right, too.    She did some good ballads and she did a helluva job convincing us she was a great musician, a great dancer…I think we should hang her up and shoot her for making us have to deal with Louise’s horrendous fiddling…She had a good variety show…she was cute as a dang button…

Something that happened to her after her 1984 wreck though, was the Bullshitting Ability was totally lost.  She was so convincing before, but, boy, after that wreck, she couldn’t fake it no more. I mean, you see her now and it’s almost like she’s been taking lessons from Naomi Judd, bless her heart.

She had that wreck in September of 1984.  My mother had a very similar car accident exactly a month later.  It was the same type of situation…the other car crossed the center line, smashed into my mother, killed the driver and laid ol’ Barb (my mother is Barbara, too) for a good while.  Luckily for our Barbara, she didn’t have the head injuries Babs Mandrell had.  They did, however, have the same doctors at Baptist Hospital.  (Groovy!)

A couple weeks after Mom came home from the hospital, they had to take her back cause of blood clots or something.  An ambulance had to come get her cause she had screwed up legs and stuff. It was the most surreal experience now looking back at it.  At the time, it was as normal as going to Wal Mart but I swear to you this is the story and it is true.

Mom’s friend Goldie Hill Smith had come to sit with her that day and to provide comic relief.  (Goldie coulda been a great comedienne had she not been the first Country Music Babe).  Goldie was still smoking then and she goes to light up a ciggarette, but, lit the wrong end. (I promise this relates to Barbara. Hang wid me)  Goldie was so funny, she even made lighting a cigarette the wrong way hysterical.  When I was a smoker and anytime that happened to me, it never failed it made me think of her. 

So, Goldie lit the ciggarette wrong while  the ambulance guys were hauling Mimi/Barbara/Mom/Bobbie into their rig.  At this same time, I was drinking Coke out of a glass with ice and I was chewing on the ice and the ambulance guy told me to stop chewing the ice cause he couldn’t stand it. (WTF?) 

So, I’ve got my mother on a stretcher, Goldie lighting ciggarettes wrong, a bitchy ambulance guy scolding me and then the phone had the audacity to ring. I was 15 at this time….not that that has any relevance, but, that’s how old I was…I answer the phone and it’s Babsy Mandrell herself!  Poor Barb M. had been all in the news about her wreck and here she is on the phone calling to see about Mom.  I remember she said something about how she was praying for her and it was very nice.  (The Sista connection here was the same orthopedic doctors and California days with the Biffer.)

It wasn’t until 15 years later when Barbara wrote her book that I realized there is no way in hell she’d remember that phone conversation today because according to the book, she was still wacked outta her mind from her "head" injury.  Still, it provided me a hilarious moment. 

The Tribute Album is good.  I didn’t think they were putting The Midnight Oil on it at first, but, they did.  Gretchen "I Don’t Use A Trainer, But, Still Have Flat Abs" Wilson did it and it was ok.  Sara Evans does Crackers and its my favorite thing on the whole recording.  I could really have lived the rest of my life without hearing Reba and Kenny Chesney do I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool though. It’s just wrong.

They did a thing on the Opry tonight about Barbara is what made me think of her.  I had a better story to tell about the Smiff’s Official Family Fun Togetherness Day, but, it will wait til tomorrow.

Another legendary figure in the Nashville music industry has passed away today.

When you think of pioneering women in the music business in Nashville, you have to include Marijohn Wilkin.  She was pioneering, not only in the publishing world, but, helped co-write a couple classics that have been recorded a bajillion times:  One Day At A Time and The Long Black Veil.  Her catalog was pretty vast. 

Marijohn also had the good sense to publish the songs of a young, Oxford educated songwriter named Kris Kristofferson.

I love the quote from Patsy Bruce recalling the quote from Alex Haley about how everytime an old person dies, it’s like a library burning down.

The Other St. Louis Cardinals

With the Cardinals winning the World Series last night, I  can’t help but think about the 1942 series the Cardinals won. 

I bet you had no idea your Sista knew anything about baseball.  You thought all I knew was obscure facts about Ernest Tubb and Kitty Wells…right?  HUH?  My baseball history doesn’t compare to my country music knowledge,and I certainly don’t and can’t claim to be an expert, but, I still like it a lot.

I do know a little bit about baseball.  Now, I can’t rattle off stats or anything like that, but, I know some baseball history.  When Ken Burns great documentary was first on PBS, I didn’t miss a second and have re-watched it umpteen times…another great baseball documentary was When It Was a Game that HBO did years ago.  That was a great documentary cause the entire thing was made  up of home movies of baseball players back in the 40’s and 50’s. 

There are years I watch a lot of baseball and then there are years (like this one) I don’t watch a single game.  It is the only sport I really like and care anything about.

So, in thinking about the Cardinals winning the series, I am reminded of the 1942 World Series in which the Cardinals beat the New York Yankees.

You know what’s coming…yes, I have a teeny bit of a personal connection to the 1942 winning Cardinals.  I know what you’re thinking…"That Sista is so well connected." Heh. Not really, but, I can make it sound that way, can’t I?    

So the 1942 team beat the Yankees and one of the pitchers for the team, who pitched them to two wins in the World Series that year was one Nashvillian, Johnny Beazley.  He was a great pitcher and quite important to the Cardinals during that ’42 season and probably would’ve been more of a household name/living legend had World War II not come along.  The war and an injury he got upon his return ended up ruining his baseball career.

Johnny did well playing baseball and came back home to Nashville, he was the father of 5 children (one of his daughters has been a naturalist at Warner Parks forever) and owned the Falstaff Beer distributorship.  He was even a City Councilman.  He retired to Florida in the late 70’s after his first wife died.

Oh yeah…my connection, albeit a teeny one would be that his grandaughter, Terri Leigh, was my first best friend.  They lived behind us and we became friends when she and I were 4 years old and stayed really close til we got to middle school and she moved in on my man.  (Not really, but, kinda)  Terri Leigh was the beautiful, blue eyed blonde to my tomboyish, dark curly hair.  She and I are still in touch through email here and there and she is adorable, still.

I only saw Johnny a couple times and certainly can’t claim to have known him well. He was in Florida while we were growing up or I’d have seen him more, I’m sure since I saw Terri Leigh’s maternal grandparents a lot.

Johnny was such a strikingly, good looking man and something of an intimidating presence.  Even the picture Terri Leigh’s dad kept of him in a frame was intimidating.  I wish I would’ve had the presence of mind to pick his brain about what it was like to play pro ball in the era of Stan Musial, Joe Dimaggio, and Ted Williams.  At the time, I didn’t realize who he was and what he had done. I can remember holding the signed game ball with signatures of all the ’42 Cardinals on it and thinking it was just another baseball.  Geez.

At The Y…

I’ve been really good the last couple weeks about going to the Y during the day.  I had this epiphany last week that there is really no excuse for me not to go exercise while I’m on the unemployed list.  I mean, sheesh, the kids are at school during the day, there is no excuse for me not to go. 

I was really pissed to see that the fine folks at the Y moved "my" treadmill.  My favorite one had been by the window and one of the reasons I liked it over there was because it kinda gave me the feel like I was running outdoors and I didn’t have people distractions.  (I’m a big time people watcher).  They up and put other equipment in my spot, the bastiges they are.

One good thing about having to do the treadmill thing out in the middle of everybody is I see lots of interesting people. Why, just this past Monday, I saw Rhett Akins.  The first thirty minutes I was there, he spent the whole time on his cellphone by the window (my window!).  He finally got with it and I got to see him adjust his package and make funny faces on the ab machine, which was kinda humorous.  Ok, so a minor country hitmaker, who is also pretty cute, working out.  Woo hoo.

Then, Tuesday, I saw Lelan Statom come out of the men’s locker room all showered and shiny.  TV really does not do Lelan justice.  He’s a handsome feller. 

Today though…I saw somebody really impressive and it just tickled me to death. 

I was giggling to myself noticing how midday at the Y is officially Geriatric Time.  Now that Short and Fat will be a fellow Sumner countian, I knew I must warn him about the Y midday. 

I was noticing all the mee maw and paw paw’s working out here and there when I noticed one older feller in particular, working with a trainer on the treadmill next to me.  The closer I looked, I realized that this was no ordinary old fart….this was a legendary old fart…Hank Cochran. 

From the pen of Hank Cochran has come standard songs like She’s Got You, I Fall To Pieces, Make The World Go Away, (Sadly, I first learned this song from Donny & Marie), It’s Not Love, But It’s Not Bad, Don’t Touch Me, Set ‘Em Up Joe, Miami, My Amy, Why Can’t He Be  You and one of my very favorites, Don’t You Ever Get Tired Of Hurting Me. Besides all the songs, he also used to sing in a duo with the late Eddie Cochran.  (No relation)

Stuff like this is part of why Nashville and its surrounding areas are cool places to be.  I couldn’t help but wonder if the young trainer girl had any clue that she was helping a real, bonafide, living legend figure out how to work the treadmill.   Probably not.  She’s probably never heard I Fall To Pieces.

Sista Discusses Halloween

Not to sound like the Holiday Grinch, but, I’m really getting sick of seeing these kids paraded on every morning talk show in "Halloween Costumes You Can Make."  Gag.  I don’t give a rats ass what Kelly Ripa’s and Rosie O’Donnell’s rich kids are going to wear on Halloween.  Not all of us have professional costumers/seamstresses to make our kids’ costumes.  Here in the real world, we head over to Wal Mart or Party City. 

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Halloween, although I don’t put tombstones or toilet paper ghosts in my trees.  I always get a kick out of seeing all the kids in the neighborhood and their costumes and really, Halloween is the only day of the year I see all my neighbors. I enjoy carving the pumpkins and always do a smashing pumpkin.  Not cause I’m such a great artist, but, this stuff here is just the coolest! I get compliments every year.  People say "Wow! I like your pumpkins" and I just giggle to myself at my little secret. 

Another Halloween gripe I have is how at most Baptist churches and other non-denominational, evangelical type churches, they have, Halloween parties that aren’t really Halloween parties, but, "Harvest Parties" because, you know Halloween is so sinful.  This drives me insane.  They’ll say stuff like "We want to  provide a safer ‘alternative’ to Halloween."  Ok, if this were the projects or the inner city, yeah, but last I checked, the streets of Hendersonville or Brentwood, Franklin, Mt. Juliet and other suburb type areas are not exactly known for their roughness.

  Now, I’m not ashamed to sit here on my blog and tell the world that I am a Bible believing, born-again Christian.  I love Jesus.  Jesus, however, has never convicted me that the kids dressing up and going to the neighbors, getting candy is sinful and I refuse to buy into that.  I’m always amazed at the number of my fellow believers that don’t allow their kids to participate in Halloween.  They take the same arrogant attitude the Homeschoolers take and say "We don’t DO Halloween."  Pffffft.  Not all Christians take this approach (take me for example) and I just plain resent the ones who do.

If I were conducting a seance here at Casa de Smiff or sacrificing animals on Halloween…yeah, that’s bad. I don’t know of anybody on my street that does that.  I’m sure it goes on somewhere, but, not amongst 8 year olds chowing down on their Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.  Come on, people of God….quit it.   Get yer head out of yer butt and join with me in everybody’s favorite Halloween chant:

"Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!"