Day 31: Thirty-Wonderful

It’s HERE!!! The day we have been building up to is finally here. I don’t know whether to rejoice or cry. As I sit here looking at my decorations I think of how lucky I am. This month hasn’t been typical of my usual October fun, but there have certainly been enjoyable bits along the way.

Yesterday reminded me just how much I love Halloween. We had our modified Halloween party for our residents. It was reverse trick or treating, we went into their rooms in costume and brought them candy. I got to wear my new costumes and had a ball. Our antics brought huge smiles to their faces and I wish I could do it all over again. Then on the drive home, the moon was big and bright and full and wreathed in clouds and looking very spooky indeed. I saw that more people have put up holiday lawn decorations just since yesterday. I think I guilted my neighbors across the way to put up their lights. I still am on the fence as to whether or not I will be opening my door to trick or treaters. I’ll know the answer by tomorrow night.

It has been a good October and I can thank all of you for going through it with me. Thank you for reading and responding and for letting me share a little of my October joy with you. It means a lot. I may write more as the day progresses, but either way I’d certainly like to know how you spend your Halloween.

Happy Halloween everyone! Till we meet again.

Day 31: HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Well, it’s finally here, the big day. The day we have been working toward all month. Hopefully pumpkins have been carved, candy stocked, and costumes planned. I was getting last minute candy on Monday and there were many, MANY people in the aisles with cranky children asking them what they wanted to be for Halloween. Last week there were options galore, this week there are T-shirts and onesies. It will be an interesting Halloween for some people. If they were really creative children they would pick a unicorn horn and tail, with panda paws, a cape (with a hole for the really cool tail), tiara, maybe a harlequin mask, a tutu, wacky patterned leggings and sparkly shoes. Ok, maybe the mask and cape are a bit much, but it would be kinda cool to make a totally wacky costume. Oooh, that should totally be a game-show. Contestants are given a set dollar amount and a cart and have to do a supermarket dash type thing but in the slim pickins aisle of the costume department. The person with the most creative costume wins. The only criteria is that it can’t look like anything we would recognize. Oooh, I’m trademarking this. I will make millions……or at least hundreds……maybe just enough to get me next year’s costume.

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed the wonderful month of October. I hope you have drank or eaten your body weight in pumpkin spiced things. I hope you visited a corn maze or three. I hope you have fun plans for the evening or day or both. I hope these rambling have broadened your October horizons and given you some joy along the way. If not, I hope they made you seem saner in comparison to me ;) I have a host of plans for the day. Main plans, back up plans, plans for if those plans take a detour. I know at the end of the night, this Cinderella will kick off her glass slippers, find an easy chair and put her feet up. I will listen to my spooky Sounds of Halloween tape one last time before bed and then drift off to sweet candy corn colored dreams. In the morning will come the bleak November, but perhaps some of the bright lights and sweet treats from October will linger.

Happy Halloween everyone! Till next year.

Day 11: Through Linus Colored Glasses

I felt a bit of October melancholy yesterday. I think it was mostly due to the fact that October is zooming by, at least that’s what it feels like to me. My thought process went something like this; oh it is the 10^th of October, which means it is almost the 15^th, which means October is almost half over. Half over means there are only 16 more days to go, that is only 2 weeks; I don’t even have my decorations finished yet. I’m running out of time….ARGHHHHHHHH. I actually stressed myself out over the imminent end of October which is still 3 weeks away. I mean really Rebecca, chill out.

In the midst of my October freak out, I tried to find something to make myself feel better. My sights landed on my interactive sound book of It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, and that was all she wrote. I usually watch the show on TV when it rolls around, and if I happen to miss it I pull out my copy for holiday viewing, but this year the book just called to me. I was powerless to resist and opened it up and went on a Halloween journey with Charlie Brown and his pals.

Now of course I like Snoopy, he will always be my favorite. I am kind of partial to his happy dance and the sound he makes when he laughs, plus he has a killer imagination, but my favorite kid is Linus. He is the character that most resembles me. He is a kid and not ashamed to be one. While his friends go out and party he is content to follow his own path and wait for the Great Pumpkin.

I don't know if someone (cough cough his parents) told Linus that there was a Great Pumpkin or if he imagined it. Either way I respect him. If someone told him about GP, then I admire him for sticking to his guns. His friends ridicule him, his own sister calls him names, but he never wavers, even when the Great Pumpkin doesn't show. If he imagined it, then I am in awe of his creativity. I mean, what on earth does a sincere pumpkin patch look like anyway? I have gone round and round about that one for years. I think a sincere pumpkin patch is a bit wild. It might not be in neat rows, it will have a variety of pumpkins and it won't be fenced. Beyond that I couldn't really say. I guess my imagination isn't that great. And how on earth does a really big pumpkin fly, let alone hand out presents? What a creative mind.

I love that Linus is willing to dream big. He has a goal and by golly, nothing is getting in his way. He actively searches out what is the most sincere patch. He writes letters to GP, he misses parties and trick or treating just to catch a glimpse. If Linus were a real boy, I would want him for a friend. I would know that I could count on him. If he said that he was going to do something, then he would do it. I would also hope that some of his youthful innocence would rub off on me. That some of the wonder and magic would find its way into my bloodstream.

I also am a bit in love with the fact that Linus carries his blankie wherever he goes. I did that for years and a man who is confident enough to carry his blue blankie with him, gets my vote. I also love his sweet naiveté. His friends come tromping by on the way to a party and he assumes that they are coming to see him and sing pumpkin carols. I love that in his mind that is the only option. I also love that someone other than me knows that there are such a thing as pumpkin carols.

While the gang goes off to bob for apples and listen to Schroder play the piano, Linus is out in the pumpkin patch having his own fun. He is his own man. He doesn't let anyone's opinion of him get him down. When he is being teased or when things don't go his way, he is positive and looking forward to the next time. My favorite line is "But Linus still wasn't ready to give up." What a guy.

I love that when he thinks the Great Pumpkin is about to appear, Linus does the manly thing and faints. He is so overcome with excitement, anticipation and joy that he is full to the brim and can't contain it anymore. But I think the best part is that even though he is teased, even though he potentially missed the Great Pumpkin, as the gang leaves he shouts, "If the Great Pumpkin comes, I'll still put in a good word for you." He is willing to share his magic and wonder. He is willing to believe enough for all of them.

When I grow up, I want to be a Linus, and I don't think that is such a bad thing to aspire to.

October Thoughts Day 31: All Good Things Must Come to an End

It’s here, it’s here, it’s finally here, today is Halloween! These 31 days have gone by in a flash, and yet at the same time it feels like they have taken forever. I suppose that is how you know it has been a good month. This October wasn’t anything like I expected it to be and I still don’t know how I feel about that but time marches on. I have a few things on my October bucket list to cross off and a whole glorious day to do it in.

It has been fun seeing people in costumes early and hearing about all the festivities, but nothing can take away the splendor that is Halloween night. I have my candy platter at the ready in case any trick-or-treaters get lost and accidentally end up at my house. The decorations are all in place and the things that light up have been lit.

October gave me a wonderful surprise last evening. I got to sit out on the porch and watch a massive fog bank roll in. In mere minutes it had engulfed the house and was so dense that it disrupted the satellite feed on the TV. After the fog came a hard rain that sounded like it would beat through the roof. It was quite a treat. Hopefully this inclement weather system has worked itself out so this evening will be clear and bright. I always hated wet Halloweens. Trick-or-treating is no fun if you have to wear your rain gear. It defeats the purpose of having a marvelous costume.

I hope you have enjoyed the thoughts this year, they weren’t totally up to par, but I hope you found them entertaining nonetheless. I hope this October found you well and blessed, so much so that you can ride on the coattails of all that feel good straight into Thanksgiving.

Soon the magic of October will be boxed up and set upon the cosmic shelf for another year. The easygoing ways we have come to love will be replaced with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season as the old year slowly fades to make room for the new. So then, the challenge for today is to enjoy the remainder of October to the fullest. Bob for apples, finally pay a visit to that corn maze, wear a crazy costume, pass out candy, go on a hayride, drink come cider or eat pumpkin spice something. Make merry till the clock strikes twelve and your carriage once again turns into a pumpkin. Once you are tucked away safely at home and after you check under your bed for monsters looking to steal your candy, snuggle down in bed and make a list of all the things you were thankful for in this most wondrous of months. Hold on to that list and those feelings as you move into November and beyond. Consider it a belated October gift to yourself. Now quit reading and go out there and carpe some diem.

Happy October everyone and Happy Halloween!

October Thought Day 28: Holiday History

Talking about past candy scores made me think about Halloween’s past and how much things have changed. Change is inevitable, sometimes it can be painful, but it is interesting to see it progress. I remember that Halloween used to mean parents dressing up their kids and sending them out to get candy. Most of the time children were unsupervised or if they were it was with an older sibling. You went door to door in your neighborhood, got your candy and happily munched it without a care in the world. Then came the few bad apples that put dangerous things in the candy. So parents had to send the haul to a scanner before their kids could eat it. Then it got too dangerous to trick or treat so parents started taking their kids to the mall or churches or trunk or treats to keep them safe. Now most people go to an alternative Halloween affair, which is fun, but not the same as what I did as a kid.

It’s sad that in my short lifespan things have changed so drastically. In my mind that is craziness. Halloween has always been one way and to change it seems wrong. But has it really always been that way? I knew a little about the history of Halloween, but for the sake of this question I dug a bit deeper.

In the beginning, the time around what we now call Halloween was thought to be when the veil between worlds was thinnest and evil spirits could run amok. To confuse the evil spirits, people wore masks. If the spirit thought you were another beasty it would leave you alone. In the Middle Ages that morphed into people going door to door asking for soul-cakes for food. If they got a cake the recipient would promise to say a prayer for the giver’s departed family members. During that same time frame, the religious theme was compounded by people beginning to dress up in costumes, particularly those connected to biblical figures. These costumed people would roam the towns and tell bible stories as well as myths. This idea of mumming is partly responsible for the concept of trick-or-treating that we have now.

Trick or treating became popular in the US in the 30’s as a way to diminish youth causing mischief. The idea first took hold in the western US and then moved east. According to Trick or Treat: A History of Halloween, “It began as a new year’s celebration and a Christian commemoration of the dead. Over time it has served as a harvest festival, a romantic night of mystery for young adults, an autumnal party for adults, a costumed begging ritual for children, a season for exploring fears in a controlled environment and most recently a heavily commercialized product exported by the US to the rest of the world.”

Having learned the history of my favorite holiday, it makes me wonder why people do it now. I have never met anyone who dressed up because they were trying to confuse evil spirits. I have never heard a trick-or-treater offer to pray for a family’s loved ones in exchange for candy. Do we participate because of national tradition and a sense that we have always done it so we just keep on keeping on? If I had to make a guess, I would say collectively it is done to go with the flow, for kids it’s because of candy and for adults it’s an excuse for a party. I think there are some out there who use it as a day of remembrance like me, but even I do it for the fun of dressing up and decorating. I also love the parties. It is a way to get ready for the coming winter, a no pressure way to practice for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s funny and a bit sad that something steeped in such tradition has become a watered down version of itself.  

So why do you celebrate the holiday, or do you?

October Thoughts Day 31: The End....for now

I can't believe it, the big day is finally here. I have waited so long and semi patiently and now the day is a bit bittersweet. I am not ready for my October fun to end. Yesterday when I was moseying about the town, it looked like November already. I was most put out. But no, I have one more glorious day to spend in the best month ever.

Last night I got a pumpkin ice cream sundae and drove around the city looking at Halloween lights. I saw ghosts and goblins. Scarecrows, vampires and other monsters I can't quite figure out. There were inflatable pumpkin men and glowing spider webs. I felt very much at home. I listened to violin music by candlelight. I watched some classic Halloween films and ate some early Halloween candy.

Today I drove all over creation experiencing Halloween. I had a Frappula and went trick or treating in a candy store. I found an add for one last corn maze but it proved to be a mythical creature that resisted giving up its location. I watched more classic October films whilst waiting for trick or treaters to show up. Yet again my record is untarnished, no trick or treators darkened my door.

But I did get to watch hoards of them swarming the streets and local businesses. It was a cute site to see. I love this time of year. I can't wait for it to come again.

Happy Halloween everyone and thank you for coming on this journey with me. I'll see you again 353 days from now.

October Thoughts Day 14: Why October is Wonderful

Yesterday was an October day for the books. It had just about every one of my favorite October things rolled into one nearly perfect day. I say nearly perfect because 1 the air was smoked filled from a local fire and I have been coughing like I'm trying to wear my lungs on the outside, and 2 I like to leave the door open for an even more wonderful October day to sneak in. They are tricksy and like to do that ya know.

But what made this day in particular so great? It involved adventure, wonder, beautiful scenery, good company, pumpkins, books, more pumpkins, new friendships and so much October goodness that as I write my heart is still full to bursting with joy.

The day started out with pumpkin cake deliveries. A special few had the benefit of trying out the fruits of my new pumpkin recipe labors, and if I do say so myself the results were rather tasty. From there I ventured into the wilds of the big bad city to meet a friend whom I had previously only known through the miracle of the internet. See how October brings people together! In order to meet said friend I had to take some roads that I had never gone on before and it was so much fun. I found a couple thousand more Starbucks, saw some truly awesome street names, heard almost all my favorite songs on the radio and I found a diner that had a Viking theme. You had better believe I will be going back!

I safely made it to my friends house no thanks to MapQuest who insisted that I would know the street I was looking for because there would be an Asian restaurant on the corner. Unless the restaurant had a cloaking device it wasn't there. My friends house was something straight out of a fairytale. It was on a tree lined street and she had the best October décor in her front yard. The inside had all sorts of treasures to behold and a handsome doggie greeted me at the door. He looked a little like the beast from Beauty and the Beast and I got a few kisses, so my fairy tale was complete.

The first stop on our adventure was a diner that just happened to be serving pumpkin pancakes. Well of course I had to order one. According to the menu I could have ordered them in a stack and added chocolate chips, but I opted for plain pumpkin and only one cake. It was as big as the plate though, so don't feel too bad for me. It smelled wonderful but only mildly tasted like pumpkin if you thought about it real hard. But it was still worth the trip.

From there we ventured all around the city. My wonderful chauffer took me down beautiful side streets where I saw amazing architecture and some Halloween décor that I was truly jealous of. We stopped in a used bookstore and I had to promise my first born in order to walk out the doors with my haul. I think they must have been alerted to my arrival beforehand because they had a Halloween section right as I came in the door. I say had because I bought a large chunk of it. I actually left with a box of books. The proprietor had to go out to her car to get it. Ahhh books....and Halloween books at that. Did you know that there is such a thing as a book of Halloween poems? Now you do and I promise to share some with you  as this most glorious month nears its end.

Since I was mostly broke by this point, we took a refreshing walk down by the water and I behaved myself and only dipped a toe or two into its freezing depths. It sure felt good though. We found a perfect reading tree and a few secluded shady spots that one could pull a small boat into and while the hours away reading or napping.

Then I got to have my first Trader Joe's experience. People, did you know that they have pumpkin EVERYTHING?! Well they did, I bought most of it. However, I did exercise just a soupcon of restraint. Ok, I spent too much at the bookstore and couldn't buy it all, but I did leave some things there. I only bought one actual pumpkin and the rest of the goodies I fully intend to share. I was really excited to see a cereal called Pumpkin O's but when I read the back label most of the ingredients were sugar and if I wanted that much I would just drink some pumpkin flavored syrup and call it good. So, the Pumpkin O's stayed on the shelf, but not before I took a picture of them much to the delight of the stock boy who was shelving near us. Yeah, yeah, I'm a total pumpkin tourist, get over it. I may or may not have done my weird little happy shuffle dance when I came across new pumpkiny things. I also may or may not have squealed at some of them. Sadly, my quest for soy pumpkin nog continues. It is my holy grail. Grocers in general carried it for two years just to get me hooked and now they have cruelly taken it from me. I can't even find it on Amazon. Did I just imagine that such a wondrous beverage existed? Cuz I think if anyone was going to hallucinate pumpkin flavored stuff it would be me.

So after I looted Trader Joe's we finished our outing with a stop at Jamba Juice where I gleefully ordered a pumpkin smash. It was SO good. Liquid pumpkin goodness just danced its way down my throat. I want another one post haste. Like now. Do drones take Jamba Juice orders? We visited one more bookstore and I found the cutest zombie book and card. When my funds magically replenish themselves I will be going back to liberate them and make them a part of my October collection.
I got stuck in a traffic jam on the way home, but since I had pumpkin everything in my vehicle I wasn't too worried. I sang pumpkin songs and Thriller came on the radio and I serenaded those closest to me in the traffic snarl. I don't think they were as appreciative as they could have been, but I honestly don't care.

Now I am home sipping pumpkin tea and surveying all my Octoberiffic loot. I managed to procure far less pumpkin stuff than anticipated. I even passed a farm stand full of pumpkins without stopping...several times. Ok, some of those several times I wasn't the driver and I had my anti pumpkin sponsor coaching me, but I passed it once all on my own and that has to count for something.

All in all, it was a truly marvelous day. It wasn't about the buying of stuff. It was about the company, the creativity, the silliness and the October of it all. Days like this, when you can just be and enjoy and discover new things, are what make life special. I wish you all an October day like mine.

October Thought Day 8: October Surprises

One of my favorite things about October is the surprises. I never know quite what to expect, but something wonderful always happens. Maybe it is something unexpected in the mail. Sometimes it is an impromptu adventure. The point is, October is full of wonderful things and this year is no exception.

I had it all planned out yesterday. I was going to write another installment of the corn maze story and that was going to be that. But then an October surprise came along and wonderfully changed my plans. So, the October Thought for today is all about my parents which may be another October Thought first.

My parents really get me. While that might seem like an odd statement to make, not all parents and children are close. Not all see eye to eye and not all have the relationship that I have with mine. I have never once felt crazy for liking an entire month the way I do. I don't feel belittled being an adult and still going nuts over Halloween. Not only do my parents support this crazy mania, they actively participate and encourage it.

When I went to visit my dad a few weeks ago he gamely went to craft and candle stores with me picking out October décor. He carried bags, made deals and found some swag that I had missed. He was even going to go to a Halloween town with me and fully participate. He never once rolled his eyes at me when I bought yet another decoration or thing with a pumpkin on it. He even bought a few himself. But I digress.

Before leaving, dad had me load a box in my car to take home. He said that it was something to open later as he had packed it pretty tight and didn't want to undo it. That sounded sensible and I agreed. Once I got home and unloaded, the box went right out of my mind until this week. On Monday when we talked he reminded me about the box and said that I could open it. I was sleepy so I went to bed instead and promptly forgot about it, again. On Tuesday when we talked he asked if I had opened the box yet and I told him no, but that I would do it when we hung up. Once again I forgot and it wasn't until will talked on Wednesday night when he asked if I had opened it that I remembered. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten again and I said I would open it right then and there while he was on the phone so this wouldn't keep happening.

So I opened the box and the contents almost made me drop the phone. Inside was a beautiful, six piece Halloween train set from my favorite company. You see, there is a pharmacy near where my dad lives and they have a Halloween village set up under a dark canopy with twinkle lights. I drag him there to look at the model every time I visit, and on one of my last trips he went back after I left and bought the train set for me because he knew how much I liked it.

I was speechless. Ok, that's not true. I made lots of excited noises, hopped around, gave him a play by play as I opened each piece and thanked him profusely. It really is a marvelous train set and while I could go into nauseating detail about it, I will spare you and say that if you really want to know what it looks like, Google Department 56 Halloween train. Thus far I have spent two hours just looking at it, setting it up, playing with the lights and taking pictures which don't do it justice. I can't get enough.

But not to be outdone, my mother also had a surprise for me. She had found a Halloween sign in a craft store and presented me with it the day prior. It is a 9x6 sign that is mostly white with orange triangles and black chevrons around the perimeter. In spooky black script it reads "Queen of Halloween. Do it my way or I'll push you off my broom." I loved it instantly. I have a fancy scrollwork crow that I put on top of it and a boney pumpkin I sat next to it. It is the perfect adornment for my desk and it makes me chuckle.

You see, my parents get me. What a wonderful October gift.

Day 31: The Last Hurrah

This is it. The big day has finally arrived and I am as giddy as a kid at Christmas. I have such high hopes for the day, I can't wait to see how it pans out. I have at least 4 costume changes planned. Ok, they aren't all costumes, some are holiday attire, but I'm still counting them as costume changes. Plus, it makes me sound a bit like a rock star.

For this final thought, it is only fitting that I talk about Halloween. It is the perfect way to end such a wonderful month.  I think all months should end with a celebration. When I become grand high chancellor of everything I will decree that such a thing happen. That and I will banish November. But for now I am content to celebrate what I have. I know that for some people, Halloween is a horrible holiday. And I respect that. Just like I respect the people that loath Valentines Day. But, I am obviously not one of the Halloween haters. I do hate how the carefree aspect of the holiday has been stripped away year after year, but that is besides the point. I love Halloween for its simplicity and joy. It is a time of family and imagination. A time of wonder and magic. It is the last hurrah before the weather gets cold and the pressures of the season rush in. It is a day where you get to be a kid again or at least let your inner child out to play.

But for all that, I also see Halloween as a day of remembrance. Halloween to me is like a memorial day for family and friends. It is a time when I take stock of those I have loved and lost and those I still have. It is a time to go and pay my respects and remember the dead. Call it macabre if you want to, but that is how I have felt ever since I was a kid. Halloween is a dichotomy. It is a time to morn those lost and to celebrate in the life still to live. It is a time to be somber and a time to be joyous. Maybe that is why I like it so much. It can't be pegged as just one thing. Though the candy part doesn't hurt either.

I am sad that kids today aren't having the same trick or treating experiences that I had as a child. I grew up right on the cusp of taking your candy hauls to the police so they could scan them. There was a fear, but not like there is today. I could run around to neighbors houses with my pillowcase or pumpkin bucket and not be scared. Now more and more people stop decorating and handing out candy and go to school, church or community functions instead. Which don't get me wrong, I am ALL for those events. I love them. I participate in them. But some of the magic is lost. Getting candy out of the back of someone's car is just boring and it borders on being creepy. Maybe I am just getting all curmudgeonly in my old age, but I like things how they used to be. When people really put on a spectacle and liked having kids come over to get candy.

I have never, ever had a trick or treater and if things keep going like they are, I never will. I find this enormously depressing. I hear friends complaining about how they run out of candy and how they get tired of answering the door and I just want to lecture them and tell them to count their blessings. Each year I fill up my candy bowl and wait. I feel a bit like Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin. Each year I just KNOW that a trick or treater will show up and each year nothing. But like Linus I don't give up hope. This year will be different. I can feel it.

So revel in the day. Eat and drink copious amounts of pumpkin flavored something. Dress up with reckless abandon, hug those you love, send trick or treaters my way and above all have fun. This has been another wonderful October ride and I thank you for sharing it with me.

My Town: OT Day 15

Seriously, how is October half over already. I mean, I was just waiting for it to start, it finally began and now it is hurtling towards the end. I guess time really does fly when you are having fun.
I know I have already talked about decorations, but I just can't help myself. The thought for the day was brought about by a mix of things. While everyone in the house was taking a nap (pets included) I had the living room all to myself. The day was kind of dark so I turned on the Halloween village early. I sat on the sofa and watched the lights flicker. After a while I picked up a magazine and began to thumb through it. Two words in one of the articles caught my attention, they were "imagination library."

Now if you know me at all, you know my brain was immediately thinking two different things at once. I was pondering what exactly an imagination library would look like if it were to take on a physical form, and I was thinking about my inspiration file in my desk. From now on of course, I am going to call it my imagination library. What a wonderful choice of words. I put the magazine down, looked back at the Halloween village and began to day dream.

Every year I have spare moments where I imagine what it would be like to live in my Halloween village. There are a mix of spooky and normal houses, 2 churches, several barns, a grocer, a mill, mansions, modest suburban dwellings, a few ghosts, Halloween trees, fall trees, of course a movie theater and much more.

My favorite piece of the village will always be the haunted mansion that my grandmother made for me. It is ceramic, the paint is chipped in places, the lights on the inside only work half the time, and each transition of color makes a clicking noise. But it is an old haunted mansion after all and such things come standard. My next favorite is a mansion that dwarfs the ceramic one both in girth and height. There are rickety wrought iron railings and bats hang from almost every gutter. The rocking chair on the front porch creaks and every so often the house lights up with a lightning flash. It is a pretty great house. I think I would divide my time living in the two.

My Halloween village has had various incarnations. it is a magical town after all and nothing likes to stay stagnant. I can imagine walking down the cobblestone lane of my town. Some roads would be paved, some would be dirty and filled with overgrown weeds. Some roads would lead off into the woods and some would take you right to the mayors residence. In my town fall would be a big deal and a mandatory three month celebration. The local high school would be named after either bats or pumpkins and the town drink would be cider. Of course my town would be very monster tolerant. After all, monsters are either lab experiments gone wrong, or individuals who could just use a really good hug.

The Mummy, would run the local Bed Bath and Beyond. The Invisible Man would be the sheriff. The Creature from the Black Lagoon would be the swim coach, Frankenstein would be a surgeon and the Wolfman would be the owner of the local cinema. Dracula would be the bank manager and the Phantom of the Opera the local music teacher. An Igor would run the local coffee joint and the Headless Horseman would be the bus driver.

But the library. The library would be something special. After all, it would be an imagination library. The building would never be in the same place twice. Some times it might be found in the deepest parts of the forest. Other times it might be underneath the lake. Every so often you might find it on main street....or above main street. You could only access it by closing your eyes and picturing it. Once you saw it in your minds eye, suddenly you would be standing inside the great front hall. This library would be built like a castle, but without the drafts. There would be many rooms, attics, basements, secret passage ways and comfy chairs. There would be roaring fireplaces, window seats, spiral staircases, catacombs, and rolling ladders. Genies, elves, gargoyles and ghosts would retrieve any book you needed and you would never have to worry about returning books because once you were done with them they would just reappear back on the shelves in the library.

In my library there would always be a chair waiting just for you. And it would always be exactly what you wanted and exactly where you needed it to be. The only limits to what the library could be, would be your own imagination. Instead of using elevators to get to different floors, you would use magic mirrors. And as to the imagination part, there would be a very special room for that. Once in the room, you could walk around inside your own imagination. You could sail the seven seas, fly along the clouds, create a world entirely built by gumdrops. After all, it would be your imagination.

Wow, best town ever. I can't wait to move there. But first I have to find the shrinking potion that Alice drank in Wonderland. I know I put it around here somewhere. That pesky rabbit must have run off with it. Now that you know about my imagination library, what would yours look like? Have in it? Did I mention mine has a coffee fountain and butlers who like to bring you scones.