For the first time ever, Benjamin went into E. L. Craven's Haunted Funeral Parlor. A couple of years ago he had gotten into line to go in with his Nana, but backed out at the last minute. So this year, a little more than a month shy of 14, he finally went in with me and a friend of his named Daniel. We all survived.
There was a high level of theatrics involved, especially for an area like ours. I am a plot person, and there was a sign with a great deal of introductory writing explaining the setup and how the Haunted Funeral Parlor came about. But once inside, I kind of lost all that, and realized it was mostly about people dressed up as zombies or something similar coming up on you when you didn't realize they were there. Probably the most interesting part was a maze when you got outside of the parlor. The boys initially made wrong turns, and I had a small sense of worry that we might be trapped in it quite awhile. But luckily they were able to get out after a few dead ends.
It is always surprising to me, given how small the town is, how often I can go out among a lot of locals, and not really recognize anybody. The crowd of people waiting to get in were completely unfamiliar to me. To be totally honest, some of them looked almost as rough as the zombies we were going to go see.
===============
We had a party in our own parlor on Friday night, about eight people over for a dinner party. That was unusual for us, but it went very well and we enjoyed it. Alison fixed her homemade lasagna, and one of the guests brought a delicious cake, It was centered around people from our church, which I am happy to report is growing, including with Blackshear folk. I really think that the growing future of Christianity lies within the progressive churches, and I am glad to see even in this area, our progressive church grow.
================
Sports was something this weekend. Michigan got clobbered by Michigan State. I had high hopes for Brady Hoke, but I still blame the Athletic Director more than the coach. Why anyone thought a pizza chain CEO's skill set translated into a college athletic director's job is beyond me.
Sunday was a tough sports day for our house divided at Straitland. I'm glad the Lions won, but I can't help but feel for Alison, as the Falcons (my second favorite team) looked very effective in the first half, but just crumbled in the second half. And although I'm glad Detroit made that super last second field goal, I'm still trying to figure out how they managed to win the game by getting a second shot based on a penalty that they themselves incurred.
===================
I have been home since Thursday, taking advantage of my fat extra three vacation days a year. I will be starting back on Tuesday. It is a staycation, as our vacation budget was exhausted by California and by having to replace our refrigerator. I have taken it as an opportunity to catch up on my writing. I really want to finish my two novel-length projects, History of The Trap and Crowley Stories, and than focus on promotion and short stories. That's the theory at any rate.
I have heard that some people have trouble with retirement, that they get bored and want to go back to work. This staycation has demonstrated to me that I won't have any problem with that at all. I love to write and read too much to ever be bored. And there's charity work, community theater, and even selling antiques and comics if I felt inclined, If it wasn't for that whole pesky money issue, I would retire today.
Until next time,
T. M. Strait
No comments:
Post a Comment