{"id":3051,"date":"2011-11-01T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-01T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html"},"modified":"2011-11-01T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-11-01T11:00:00","slug":"twas-the-night-of-halloween","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html","title":{"rendered":"Twas the night of Halloween"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

When the strangest things are seen!\u00a0 What a night.\u00a0 We were able to get some fun time in with the boys after I managed to work an account for most of the morning.\u00a0 After pizza at Pizza Hut for lunch, we went to the usual cemetery visit, picking up where we had left off with the Mom and little\u2019un the night before, spooking around and looking at the reminders of just how precious life is.\u00a0 What better focus on that day before All Saints?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The great Griffey Boys cemetery ghost hunt, 2011<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Don\u2019t know what they\u2019re doing, but either it\u2019s funny or frightening<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Then we took an excursion through the woods at nearby Blue Limestone park, known to be haunted by restless spirits owing to a train wreck in ages past.\u00a0 Alas, rain that morning and in previous days made it impossible to get into the tunnel where the ghost is believed to dwell.\u00a0 So my intrepid sons decided to make for another way, discovering a \u2018path\u2019 and climbing up and around the leaf bare woods.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

We came out at a point not less than 40 feet above the lake beneath us.\u00a0 That was enough to assure my sons that it was time to turn back.\u00a0 That the woods also reminded one of the same forest in the Blair<\/em> Witch Project<\/em>, added to the urgency.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Adventurers to the fore!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seeing things from an angle we\u2019ve never seen before.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Then we came home, met up with their Mom and our youngest, and began preparations for the annual candy frenzy.\u00a0 Through cleverness and resourcefulness, a makeshift cemetery was placed in our front yard.\u00a0 And where dampness and winds prevented the usual display of artificial webbing, a rather dismal and haunted looking graveyard took shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yes, there\u2019s a cemetery there.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Then on came the costumes.\u00a0 Despite weeks of wanting to be a pumpkin, our youngest balked at the last minute and could only be convinced to wear his pumpkin costume under an Ohio State jersey while carrying a wooden dagger.\u00a0 The Ohio State shirt must have been in celebration of our stunning victory over Wisconsin.\u00a0 The dagger?\u00a0 Don\u2019t ask me.\u00a0 With my Mom living with us, we had him covered and ready to go. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
It\u2019s a pumpkin dressed in Ohio State fan garb with a wooden dagger thing.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
His traditional pumpkin face, with a little help from his Mom<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Next was our 11 year old, who wanted to be a thief.\u00a0 Originally looking to a Robin Hood thief, or one from the pages of an old D&D; Players Handbook, he settled for all black with face paint, ala Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Always dashing and full of charisma, even before his black face paint<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I\u2019m sorry, but his design looked doofy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Then our 13 year old stood firm on his desire to be Gandalf the Grey.\u00a0 Not Gandalf the White, but the Grey.\u00a0 Because Lord of the Rings<\/em> is not the latest, hippest, the marketing machines of Halloween did not supply us with the needed $40.00 costume.\u00a0 So we improvised, with grey bathrobes, powdered hair, one store-bought beard, and an old limb from one of the trees that recent storms had dismantled in our backyard.\u00a0 After taping a light stick to the top, he was ready for action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
You shall not trick!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Always the most intricate, because he doesn\u2019t have to carve it<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Now our 16 year old is pretty much done with tricks-or-treats, but he did agree to take our youngest around the block once with everyone else, then bring him home and stay to help me pass out candy.\u00a0 What to wear though.\u00a0 He\u2019s built a reputation on thinking outside the box.\u00a0 Two years ago he was a mummy.\u00a0 Not original, but well done.\u00a0 Last year he was the Invisible Man, completely outside the box and much noticed.\u00a0 This year, as we\u2019ve been overdosing on Hammer Horror films, he got the last minute inspiration to go out as none other than the master sleuth himself.\u00a0 Donning an overcoat and a Holmes hat, with pipe in hand he once again upped the ante on originality, culminating with a search for clues\u00a0in the graveyard as the evening wound\u00a0 down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Son, you astound me (bonus points for keeping his sideburns)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
He has this geometric shape thing with his pumpkin designs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The family was over, though it was sad without Dad around.\u00a0 His Alzheimer\u2019s had made it tough in recent years anyway, and I think we chose not to dwell on that too much.\u00a0 My sister and her husband brought her granddaughter over, looking pretty and charming.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
As cute as a princess, if not overwhelmed by the boys <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

She had to leave earlier than usual, but indulged in the usual Halloween music with Lon Chaney\u2019s original Phantom of the Opera<\/em> on the big screen.\u00a0 After the tricks-or treats, the kids came\u00a0in and we settled down for candy, pumpkin seeds and apple cider while watching Hammer\u2019s The Curse of Frankenstein<\/em>.\u00a0 I love that our kids can be wowed by such movies in the age of Avatar<\/em>.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
On a Halloween of neat things, a bird of prey lands in a nearby branch just in time for me to get this shot<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

And that was that.\u00a0 Showers then off to bed after a brief cram session f
\nor a social studies test scheduled for the next day.\u00a0 Though Dad wasn\u2019t with us, I hope he was able to follow along and see the fun we had.\u00a0 It was the type of fun he always wanted us to have around such times, as he was never given that opportunity in his Depression Era upbringing.\u00a0 So Happy Halloween Dad, we all made it another wonderful celebration and can\u2019t wait to come back to you in a couple days. <\/p>\n

Ooooooooo!<\/div>\n
Twas the night of Halloween.<\/div>\n
Ooooooooo!<\/div>\n
When the strangest things are seen!<\/div>\n
Ooo.<\/div>\n
Ooo.<\/div>\n
Ooo.<\/div>\n
BOO!<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the strangest things are seen!\u00a0 What a night.\u00a0 We were able to get some fun time in with the boys after I managed to work an account for most of the morning.\u00a0 After pizza at Pizza Hut for lunch, we went to the usual cemetery visit, picking up where we had left off with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nTwas the night of Halloween<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When the strangest things are seen!  What a night.  We were able to get some fun time in with the boys after I managed to work an account for\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Twas the night of Halloween\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the strangest things are seen!  What a night.  We were able to get some fun time in with the boys after I managed to work an account for\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daffey Thoughts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-11-01T11:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/files\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-39Ch0s4f3PI\/TrAFGC3UNtI\/AAAAAAAAAi8\/vhGXgIPwtao\/s400\/IMG_20111030_175704.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dave Griffey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dave Griffey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html\",\"name\":\"Twas the night of Halloween\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-11-01T11:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-11-01T11:00:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/9de3f33a0818ebc53727444b649c82a7\"},\"description\":\"When the strangest things are seen!  What a night.  We were able to get some fun time in with the boys after I managed to work an account for\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Twas the night of Halloween\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/\",\"name\":\"Daffey Thoughts\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/9de3f33a0818ebc53727444b649c82a7\",\"name\":\"Dave Griffey\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/546cf1ab64797c201cc8ad19185f2e57?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/546cf1ab64797c201cc8ad19185f2e57?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dave Griffey\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/author\/dgriffey\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Twas the night of Halloween","description":"When the strangest things are seen!  What a night.  We were able to get some fun time in with the boys after I managed to work an account for","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Twas the night of Halloween","og_description":"When the strangest things are seen!  What a night.  We were able to get some fun time in with the boys after I managed to work an account for","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html","og_site_name":"Daffey Thoughts","article_published_time":"2011-11-01T11:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/files\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-39Ch0s4f3PI\/TrAFGC3UNtI\/AAAAAAAAAi8\/vhGXgIPwtao\/s400\/IMG_20111030_175704.jpg"}],"author":"Dave Griffey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dave Griffey","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html","name":"Twas the night of Halloween","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-11-01T11:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2011-11-01T11:00:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/9de3f33a0818ebc53727444b649c82a7"},"description":"When the strangest things are seen!  What a night.  We were able to get some fun time in with the boys after I managed to work an account for","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2011\/11\/twas-the-night-of-halloween.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Twas the night of Halloween"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/","name":"Daffey Thoughts","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/9de3f33a0818ebc53727444b649c82a7","name":"Dave Griffey","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/546cf1ab64797c201cc8ad19185f2e57?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/546cf1ab64797c201cc8ad19185f2e57?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Dave Griffey"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/author\/dgriffey"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2805"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3051"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3051\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}