Over the weekend I took my kids to a Halloween party hosted by our neighborhood fire department. The kids dressed up in their costumes and away we went. We discovered that the fire department was decorated with spooky spider webs and symbols of Halloween. Within the interiors volunteers served up hot dogs, popcorn, and apple cider and we took full advantage of it! Free food?? Count me in!!
There was a bouncy house, a pumpkin painting station, and a massive bonfire. They even gave out free reflective bracelets to the kids. Although my son begged to be allowed to try out the bouncy house, I refused his request. Seemed like a good way to get trampled to me. The bouncy house was filled to capacity with jumping screaming kids as it was. I knew if I let him go in, he would never want to come out and the whole evening would be spoiled in the blink of an eye. Bouncy houses always remind me of a smaller version of the play land zoo of screaming wild kids at McDonald's. Kids go in happy, and come out kicking, screaming, and throwing a pi$$y fit because once in, they never want to leave. Personally I did not want to deal with that kind of self inflicted drama on that particular night. I was there to have fun!!
What really drew the crowds was the hayride through the haunted woods and the line was testimony to its popularity. Everything from ghouls, Mario from Nintendo gaming fame, to the illustrious Harry Potter surrounded us. A pair of ghosts moved through the never ending line handing out treats to the kids. Despite the droves of people that lined up for their chance to be terrorized by unknown forces and boogey men in the woods, the line moved fairly quickly due to at least 4 tractor pulled wagons.
When it was finally our turn we climbed up and took our place on the provided hay bales. We could barely contain our excitement! We didn’t know what awaited us as the wagon moved slowly into the pitch black night. As we approached the woods we came to a lonely set of railroad tracks with warning signals flashing. As our wagon crept across the tracks the blinding light of an approaching train drew closer giving everyone a jolt. Zombies, goblins, and boogey men rushed up to the wagon out of the darkness eliciting screams of terror and nervous laughter. One scary fellow stood along the path, and I could have swore he was not real…when suddenly he darted toward the wagon. He scared the living be Jesus out of me. I am so glad I didn’t have to pee at the time because I would have peed my pants for sure! Instead of screaming…my reaction was to bust into a fit of giggles. Everyone else was screaming and boogey men and women appeared at every turn. Zombies approached moaning and bubbling cauldrons could be seen in the distance. At one point we passed an abandoned graveyard and were startled to discover its inhabitants busting out of the ground. Spooky spider webs hung down from above and blood covered boogey men darted from out of the darkness and from behind trees grabbing at the wagon‘s occupants.
As we approached the edge of the woods and inched closer to safety one zombie grabbed onto the wagon directly in front of us and demanded to be fed. “Feed me!!” he begged in a ghostly voice. The lady sitting beside me was tempted to throw her child’s pumpkin pail at him, but she couldn’t pry it out of her kids hands.
As terrified as my kids have been of the things that go bump in the night in the past, both were biting at the bit to get on that wagon and head off into the night to face the boogey man head on in the spirit of Halloween. It was a night of pure Halloween fun and I applaud the Concord Township Fire Department for their efforts!! A big thank you to all the people that made the party a reality. We had a blast. Until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a truckers wife.
Once my parents died, I had no qualms about going to the cemetery. My folks were there, so it had to be a safe, peaceful place. Never expected anything sinister, or actually thought I would experience anything resembling a haunting or see any ghosts. It was safe as could be. Right?? That is what I used to think anyways.
After my mom died, I would often go and sit on her grave and talk with her and cry. Pathetic, I know but necessary at the time. I felt closer to her somehow. Finally my visits became less frequent. Christmas was always a special holiday for my mom. She loved to decorate every room of the house and loved the lights. She loved everything about Christmas.
It was because of this that my Dad bought her a small Christmas tree and we made a tradition of going to the cemetery every Christmas eve night to illuminate the lights, give her flowers, and wish her a Merry Christmas. It was an artificial tree outfitted with battery operated lights and my Dad figured out a way to make it work. The challenge was having the tree lit up for most of the night. Unfortunately the cold always played havoc on the batteries and usually by the time my family and I were heading home from Christmas eve festivities at my dad’s house, the lights were out. We would go into the pitch black cemetery and pick up the tree and take it home.
In 2004, my dad joined my mom in heaven and my husband and I decided to continue the tradition with a new tree. I had found a small fiber optic tree for a reasonable price and decided to buy it for my parents for Christmas. Much like every other Christmas we continued to visit the cemetery on the night before lighting the tree. The only problem that arose was that we no longer had any holiday parties on Christmas eve. Since we didn’t want to leave the tree at the cemetery for fear someone would steal it, we always went and brought it back home before bedtime.
One year it was snowing, and as I pulled up and parked I noticed that the tree was still lit. My daughter and I waded out into the snow to my parent’s grave. As we approached the tree began to blink and the lights were extinguished. I was just about to remark that it was nice the lights lasted for as long as they did when suddenly the tree lit up the night once again! My daughter and I exchanged glances and I quickly unplugged the tree plunging us into darkness again. Before I could pick the tree up again, the lights flickered one final time. Ok, now that freaked me out a little.
As I grabbed the tree and we told my parents how much we loved them and wished them a Merry Christmas, we heard voices say “Merry Christmas”. My daughter and I looked at each other and said “ Did you hear that?” at the same time and then simultaneously hauled a$$ for the car slipping and sliding in our mad dash to get the hell out of there! It was as effective as someone screaming to "Get out!" We moved so fast we were theoretically out the door, down the street, not letting the door hit us in the a$$ on the way out. We threw the tree in the back, jumped in the car, and sped out of there like the hounds of hell were after us. I don’t know what we heard that night, but I can tell you it scared the be Je$u$ right out of both of us!!
Since that Christmas eve, only one thing has changed. We still visit the graveyard on Christmas eve night, but now instead of going back and getting the tree later that night…we leave it till AFTER Christmas. Do I think there are spirits that haunt the graveyard at night??? That would be a yes!! Much like the cowardly lion in the Wizard of Oz, I do believe in spooks!! Until next time when I give you another glimpse into the life of a trucker’s wife.
Over the weekend I took my kids to a Halloween party hosted by our neighborhood fire department. The kids dressed up in their costumes and away we went. We discovered that the fire department was decorated with spooky spider webs and symbols of Halloween. Within the interiors volunteers served up hot dogs, popcorn, and apple cider and we took full advantage of it! Free food?? Count me in!! 
