Halloween

Okay, first a true ghost story...

Last night, after the kids were asleep, while I watched the new Indiana Jones movie, I heard one of the kids walk up the stairs to my bedroom. Since my wife and I were still awake, I wondered why they didn't just come into the living room. When I went to look, both of them were still asleep. Didn't find anyone.

Tonight, I wandered into the kitchen to get some dinner while my wife and kids are at the Halloween party at church and found the back door open. I probably just forgot to close it earlier. Right?

right?

Okay, on with todays blog. My theme is Halloween and the subject is "the scariest movies of all time." So, below is the 10 movies I found to be the scariest. Those who know me, send me an e-mail of your scariest movies. So, in no particular order...

1. Poltergeist. In particular, that awful (great) scene with the toy clown, that isn't behind the kid, and then is.
2. The Mist. The black and white format was very tense, and the ending horrified me. This one actually produced a sleepless night.
3. Mrs Doubtfire. Hey, is there anything scarier than Robin Williams in a dress? Okay, that one was just for fun.
4. The Blair Witch Project. The unknown, while alone in the dark woods. Need I say more?
5. Alien. Dark ship. Unknown killing creature. people keep wandering off alone. (What's that all about? Surely hundreds of years in the future, there have been enough horror movies so that people stop wandering around alone. In the dark. After others have dissappeared.
6. Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Okay, the 1978 version, not the campy 50s version. By the end all hope is lost and you have no idea who to trust. Kind of like high school.
7. Halloween. The scariest of all slasher movies. The only decent one ever made (Hey, I just call them like I see them).
8. Cape Fear. The 1962 edition, not the 1991 remake.
9. When a Stranger Calls. "He's in the house. The call is coming from inside of the house." Dang.
10. Bigfoot, the Mysterious Monster. Okay, this scene (follow the link) scared me to death when I was 9.
11. The Shining. Okay, I was only going to have 10, but this one needed an honorable mention.

Scary movies I haven't seen, but I'm thinking about watching...

1. Jaws. Yeah, yeah, I know. I've only had like 35 years to watch it. Hey, give me time.
2. Rec. Dang, this one looks creepy.

Happy Halloween everyone.

That big event has happened. Yes, it did. Wooooo!!! What event? Why, the first episode of the new Star Wars series, of course.

No, not really. The big event... Both kids are now in school. My little girl is in kindergarten. Two mornings a week, I'm at home, and it is quiet. Very quiet. Almost too quiet. I find myself doing homework, and suddenly jumping up. It's quiet. What is that kid getting into? What mess is being made? Who's hurt? But it's nothing, because I'm the only one home.

Autumn is my favorite time of the year. The blustery days, the chill in the morning, the warm, hearty stews and soups. The changes (leaves turn yellow, the days grow shorter, I start using words like "hearty"). This year, though, I miss my old routines. On the first blustery day each year, after dropping my son off at school, my daughter and I would go home, drink hot chocolate and watch Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day. This year, the first blustery day was marked by me studying for my Social Psychology test. A little less magic there.

Still, I find I get a lot more done, now that I have those two kidless mornings a week. My normal autumn chores have gone faster. Replacing or repairing the weather-stripping on the doors and windows, cleaning the gutters, replacing screens with storm windows and all the other mundane activities that make winter bearable.

I even took a short vacation and completed some projects. I tore down the 30+ year old cedar fence and built a new one (hopefully lasts just as long. What a lot of work), pulled up carpeting and started refinishing the wood floors underneath (hopefully, I'll finish some day). I even took my wife on a date, without kids and without finding a babysitter. Isn't school wonderful? We went to the observation level of the Columbia building, strolled downtown, ate at Ivar's on the waterfront and then took the water-taxi home. We wandered through antique malls, windowshopped and people-watched. What fun.

I still miss my hot chocolate and Winnie the Pooh.