Last week I announced, “They’re coming, they’re coming; this week they’re gone. Halloween is over and so is the election.
Witches, ghosts, goblins, cowboys and lots of kids, including Pebbles and Bam-Bam visited our house last Sunday. It was almost like a raid.
It all began when Pebbles Zimmerman arrived at my door. I held out my big bowl of candy and invited Pebbles to help herself (the kids like to do this). She chose her favorite, regular M&M’s, and deposited them in her pumpkin bucket. I said, “Take another.” She smiled and said “OK.”
The bowl I was holding had three different kinds of M&M’s, as well as four different candy bars. She chose another bag of regular M&M’s. I took a bag of peanut M & M’s and dropped them in her bucket thinking she hadn’t noticed. While I played a minute with her brother, 4-month old Bam-Bam, Pebbles put the peanut M & M’s back in the bowl and selected another regular M&M’s. When I tried to check her bucket, she wrestled it away and off she went with brother, Mom and Dad.
Next Halloween will really be a problem with that family, Bam-Bam will probably be able to fill two buckets himself as big as he is now. When the family left, they noticed my porch light was not lit. I thought, oh no, I’ll have to get a ladder to change it and with the kids pushing around the door I would probably get knocked down.
Maybe because of the burnt-out light or because it was so cold, we didn’t seem to get as many kids this year. The ones who did show up were all cute and most of them graciously said, “Thank you.” As I closed the door when begging hours ended wondering what I would do with half a bowl of candy, a pick-up pulled into the driveway. This time it was a raid by the Jaworskis, and they cleaned out the bowl. That was OK, because I had an extra bag of my favorites hidden in the closet, in case I needed them.
I don’t know if everyone enjoys Halloween as much as I do, but driving around the county, especially in Bad Axe, the spirits seemed to abound. Cemeteries popped up all over, some right on front lawns, while ghost peeked out from behind bushes and trees. Witches could be found flying around on their brooms and jack-o’ lanterns were everywhere.
After all the fun of Halloween, we were brought down to earth on Election Day, which I was happy to see come and go.
I could re-claim my mailbox and not have to hang up on unwanted callers. Near the end of the campaign, it seemed like every other ad on TV was a politician making promises or complaining about their opponent. I was happy that they would be gone also along with the endless commentaries about the election.
I’ve heard the final tally, seen who was chosen by the greatest number of people and been told why the election turned out as it did. But — it’s not over. The pamphlets have stopped, the phone has quieted, but all I can find on TV is political rhetoric. Who will run in 2012? Why will they run?
I’ve heard who campaigned for whom and what the elected stood for, but I just can’t understand why the media can’t give it a rest. Please stop the forecasting about who will run and what their platform will be.
As I see it, or at least hear it, the average person has had enough. We don’t want to hear anymore empty promises or election quotes. We need a break from all the hot air. I do have a suggestion though. It’s my hope that all the politicians who are planning on running in 2012 get together and pool the money their promoters plan on spending on signs, brochures and ads on TV and donate it to the needy. I believe the dollars spent on TV ads alone surly could have fed many hungry families, prevented a few foreclosures or housed a large number of homeless all over our country.
I would like to send a message to the winning candidates. If they would like to be voted into office the next time, try to come through on promises you made this time.
I’m sure that doing so would buy more votes than all the costly advertising.