Shipwrecked & Comatose

Whenever I hear friends and acquaintances blather on about how much they love fall, one of the most common reasons they state is a love of Halloween.  If fall is their favorite time of year, then Halloween is their favorite holiday. What is it about Halloween?  Is it the joy we take in artifice?  Do we believe costumes can transform us into something or someone else?  Do we think decorating with undead characters and murderers and mystical figures puts us in an acceptable place to explore our own dark sides?  Do we like to scare ourselves?  In the end, is it just an excuse to eat too much and (for adults) drink excessively just like almost any other holiday we celebrate in the US? I don't think any of these things are a bad reason to like Halloween.  I just question if celebrating Halloween excessively really accomplishes any of this. Halloween has become a massive commercial enterprise.  It is second only to Christmas.  Costume shops pop up in every neighborhood.  Every depa

I know I talk way too much about how much I hate this time of year.  I will say again much of that talk is less about real issues with the time of year and more about the end of summer and the constant hyping of Halloween, pumpkin spice, and what I call the "Basic Blather" about crunchy air and sweaters.  Regardless, I think some of my concerns are legitimate.  I don't like the dark and the weather is rarely as perfect as everyone wants it to be.  Most of all, I take issue with the traffic. This past weekend I was driving home after a long day at the barn.  I had plans for the evening and I wanted to go home and relax for a bit before going back out again.  I was cruising down Route 94 when traffic went from a clip to a creep.  Where was the backup coming from?  It was coming from the traffic pouring out of the road leading from Ochs Orchard to the traffic light.  Once I was past that traffic jam, I drove by Pennings Orchard .  While there were no traffic jams there,