Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Mysterious joy of Halloween is renewed

As October creeps along there are signs of Halloween everywhere.  Enormous displays of candy deck the aisles of the grocery store, neighborhoods are decorating their houses, the air is getting chillier and the darkness of night is advancing quickly.  I find children all over town giddily anticipating the festive night.  But it’s not just the children of the area that are looking forward to Halloween—it’s adults too. 

What is it exactly that adults love so much about Halloween?  Perhaps it is the chance to revisit a creative and silly side of our own childhoods.  Imagining that a dark autumn night holds something mysterious or scary is thrilling, even to those of us who are all grown up.  Or perhaps it is simply the fun of handing out raw sugar to other people’s children and imagining the good times that follow.  One night a year, children on a sugar high are adorably endearing.

Before we moved to Grand Coulee we lived in a section of our town in New Mexico where everyone had a couple of acres of land; beautiful, but not conducive to small children walking between houses on a dark October night.  The first year we lived there, fresh out of youth, my husband and I excitedly put out the Halloween decorations and filled bowls with candy, eagerly awaiting the first trick-or-treaters.  Sadly, we were sorely disappointed.  Not a single costumed child showed up and we were left alone watching scary movies with far too much candy to split between two adults. 

The delightful mystery of Halloween was lost from our lives for a few years.   Halloween is a holiday seemingly created strictly for children, and until we had one of our own it was too easy to treat the day as a non-event, a day to simply get through on the way to the more monumental holidays of the next few months.

Consequently, after a hiatus of many years, Halloween celebrations have reentered my life as an important date on the yearly calendar.  As a parent, I feel it is my solemn duty to give my daughter the simplistic childhood version of what a holiday may mean.  Therefore, for Halloween I give her pumpkins, costumes, and candy.  Unlike other holidays, the child version of Halloween is not much shallower than the adult version.  What is Halloween other than a guise for a night of fun and indulgence?  All that’s required these days is a costume, however simple or elaborate it may be.  Even the idle threat of the “trick” has long been discarded among most American children who rightfully assume that it is their due, without any sort of song, dance or entertainment, to receive their “treat.” 

I’ve been told that we live in an area of town that gets an enormous amount of trick-or-treating traffic.  So, for the first time in many years, we have pulled out the old decorations and stocked up on massive bags of candy.  They mysterious delight of Halloween has returned, even if I don’t expect any kind of “tricks” to entertain us during the night.  The guise of it all is enough to find the night alluring and special.  Keeping the bulging bag of raw sugar closed until the big day is, alas, a challenge reserved for the adults among us.


Previously published in "The Star," Grand Coulee, Washington. October 19, 2011

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Activities for all in the fall

With the passing of the Autumnal Equinox and our march into October, fall is officially upon us.  October has always been my favorite month of the year.  Even as a child I looked forward to fall and the fresh back-to-school activities.  Its as if the heavy lid of summer has come off and everyone has more energy and a lighter step.  Now is the time to get things done, finish up any last minute projects that you had slated to finish before the end of the year.  The crisp days of fall beckon me to get off the beach and accomplish something before the frozen days of winter send us indoors.  The promise of a hot cup of cocoa and a good book by the fire entice me to be productive and enjoy the fresh outdoor air before old man winter arrives.

This October marks the one-year anniversary of the first time I saw Grand Coulee.  It’s the first change in weather that my senses recognize.  Last year during this month we spent a long weekend to see what offerings the area had for us.  It was a gorgeous weekend, crisp and clear, and Halloween decorations happily speckled the neighborhoods.  As the weather has turned this year, I remember that weekend and the feel in the air of the same back-to-school freshness that we were to get by moving here. 

Summer in Grand Coulee has a marvelous array of activities that kept us very close to home.  With the coming of fall, the beach towels have been washed and stored away until next summer, but by no means are we headed indoors just yet.  Festivals and fairs dot the landscape of eastern Washington almost every weekend this fall.  Head in any direction from Grand Coulee and you might find a town square filled with vendors and music, parades and food.  A couple weekends ago, I stumbled upon the Autumn Leaf festival in Leavenworth and a routine Saturday drive turned into an unexpected day of merriment.  Heading in the opposite direction is a scenic train day trip along the Pend Oreille River.  The trip takes only an hour and a half and is rumored to be spectacular.  There is also the promise of a number of different Oktoberfest celebrations in various parts of the state for those with Bavarian backgrounds or simply the love of good beer.

New to me this month is the unbelievable bounty of the apple harvest.  Driving near Wenatchee recently I couldn’t help but be overcome by the enormity of the process of picking nearly 60% of the nations apples.  On first glance, to a newcomer, it doesn’t seem like the valley could hold that many apple trees.  But the further I drove and the more I looked, I noticed apple trees growing in every nook and cranny that could possibly support a tree, and even some that seemed unlikely.  There is nothing that says fall like biting into a crisp apple, the smell of a fresh baked apple pie or cool apple cider. 

This fall offers many exciting day trips and new things to uncover for someone spending their first autumn in the area, like myself.  But I suspect that there might also be some new things to see for those who’ve been here a long time.  If long hours spent in a car aren’t appealing, there are numerous trails of every difficulty around the Grand Coulee area.  That crisp fall air is perfect for a short day hike.  With the quantity of fun fall activities to do in the area, there is likely to be something for everyone. 


Previously published in "The Star," Grand Coulee, Washington. October 5, 2011