Happy Halloween

When I was in elementary school, my Parents okayed a Halloween Party. I got to invite my whole 2nd grade class. My whole family got into the act. My sister was a fortune teller at a little table, telling fortunes with information I supplied to her previously. The house was dark and spooky. I still remember what most of the kids wore, it is so deeply imprinted in my memory. I was wearing my Thunderbird costume for the 3rd or 4th year in a row. We bought it at Fred Meyer and it was mostly a plastic purple sheet and one of those masks with tiny eye holes and nothing to breathe through. The best part, and the part that people still remember, was the haunted house. My parents and other siblings put it together, and I didn't get to be a part of "the making of" at all. The ingenious part was, to enter the haunted house, you had to be blindfolded. You had a scary guide to help you, but you had to feel your way through. First there was a creaky drawbridge to walk over, then you had to feel the guts and eyeballs of somebody. I can only assume this was bowls of (doubtless) martini olives and cold spaghetti, but no one has ever confirmed this. I just remember being completely drawn in. They made it seem like we had entered a different world and not just gone down into our basement/rec room/storage facility/office/spider den. (Not the bomb shelter, the other basement. I can't explain this phenomenon, you'll just have to read past posts.) Actually, the place would have been scary without the blindfold, but I digress. The spell was cast and I was just as "spooked" as the other guests. I remember feeling really proud that my family produced such a great party and now as I'm remembering it, I'm impressed that all of my siblings gave up their Halloween to put together my party. Shucks folks, I'm speechless.

Keep the kids out of trouble

My daughter got invited to a Wyldlife meeting last week. Wyldlife is a sort of youth group for junior high age kids. They meet every week and have fun and (I assumed) fellowship which (I assumed) includes teaching and encouraging clean living, i.e., no drinking, no drugs, no hanky panky, just good, clean fun. I was all for it! My daughter was hesitant because she is leary of churches and organized religion and was afraid she would be embarrassed or put on the spot. I told her I thought she should go and find out what it was like. Well, she loved it! It was at a friend's house. Apparently they rotate from house to house each week. When I asked what they did she told me,

We decorated cookies and made prank phone calls!
My brows knit but I held my tongue and pressed on.
Were there counselors?
Yes, they were playing foos ball.
Was there a theme or a lesson?
Yeah, decorating cookies and making prank phone calls!

This can't be true. My thoughts revert to my own youth group days in the hot church attic that had been relegated to the youth. We had themes! We had lessons! We had leaders! My youth group leader was a state senator! In fact I just read about him, he's now a citizen of the Virgin Islands and was just indicted for tax problems........... Oh no.

AOL? What did I ever do to you?

The stars and planets have aligned signaling the beginning of Mable's firestorm of doom. Poor Mable. (that's me) My car went crazy yesterday. It started with the wipers. They wouldn't stop wiping. This was a sign of very bad things to come. I hate my car today. Wherever I go, things don't work: pens don't write, phones don't work. It's enough to send a girl right over the edge. Then, when I check my email I find I have no email. No, no email ACCOUNT. Hi, I've been a good AOL customer since 1996, that's right, 1996. And today they tell me they have no idea why my account has disappeared, but it's gone, baby, gone. Not my whole account, because they love to charge me for my inter-web, don't you know. Just my most important screenname, address book and files. When I ask why, techABB just types, "that screenname does not exist". I repress my urge to hit caps lock and say, "Well, it did yesterday!" A month ago AOL decided it hated everyone who sent me email to my primary account. No more email for Mable! When I asked, techNUU typed, "AOL thinks your email is bulk and is blocking it". Period. Dot. Won't fix it. Now along with all pens, phones, clocks, eyeliners, remotes, cars, keyboards and microwaves, I also hate AOL.

Time Warp

Ever had Lasik eye surgery? I had my eyes "done" in 1997 and I'm ready for an update. I am really walking around in a big haze. Last night we went out for a community night-on-the-town. A local dance company pulled me out of the crowd to do the "Time Warp", in a skirt, no less. I did my best to go "in-sa-a-a-ane", got some applause, but didn't win the "Warp-off". It was easy because I couldn't actually "see" the crowd, they were just a big blur. Can you even get a re-do in the Lasik arena? I'll find out if I can read the yellow page ads.