Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Definitely a Chill Developing

Heading out to work the other day I couldn't help but feel the chill of Autumn.

Most of the leaves haven't started turning yet but there's that definite damp cold, not quite crisp, hanging in the air. It's enough to sting your face if you're racing down a hill.

It makes me think of street hockey, light fading sooner and much more quickly, but also sleep and Halloween.

We've moved to a place where getting "trick or treaters" at the house might not happen. I'd wager that it won't happen unless we specifically invite them. There are community events planned but it looks like my kids are going to miss out on what I remember so well about Halloween: Sprinting from house to house with only sugar on my mind.

The fact it always seemed to be done with friends didn't hurt either. As we got a little older and we had discretionary dollars to spend, (illegal) firecrackers played into the Halloween rituals. Not so much on the night of, but in the lead-up to the big night.

We'd spend hours constructing various bottle rocket launchers, figuring out which cans could be used to best amplify the sound, or in one case stringing multiple fire crackers -- Black Cats, Mighty Mites -- together to create "movie effects" that resulted in skin abrasions and minor burns.

NOTE: Single-stage bottle rockets are far, far superior to three-stage bottle rockets.

It's no wonder War is often laid at the feet of Men. I think the important thing to remember is that it's probably the fact we like watching things explode more than really liking War or hating a group or country so much there's no other resolution than outright destruction. Nope. It's because we like seeing thing explode because it massages that part of our brain that enjoys looking at shiny things. Transports our brains back to the first time Fire imprinted on our collective subconsciousness.

Anyway, we're definitely on track to colder nights, shorter days, and free candy.

Next time I'll share my theory on why human populations tend to cluster around bodies of water.

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