Halloween Spooks In Beverly Hills Of Wichita Falls

No. That is not the White House you see here, sporting a tall skeleton. That is a house on Hamilton Boulevard, across from Hamilton Park, in the neighborhood I refer to as the Beverly Hills of Wichita Falls.

Hamilton Park and the Beverly Hills of Wichita Falls is a short distance from my abode, and so I drove there this final Friday of October to get in my daily bout of high-speed walking, and to take some photos of the Hamilton Boulevard Halloween decorations. 

The above is the biggest of the neighborhood Halloween displays. I could not get all the skeletons in the photo, as they were all over the yard.

This one appears to have a tall ghost on the left, a big black cat in the middle, and yet one more tall skeleton on the right.

I have been seeing multiple Halloween yard displays this year as I drive around town. Way more than I remember seeing previous years. 

UPDATE: Day After Halloween Trying To Find David, Theo & Ruby

 

I was hiking the backwoods area of Lucy Park when my phone made its incoming text message noise. Checking the message I saw a photo with text asking "Can you find your niece and nephews?"

When I got back to my home zone and my computer, I plugged in the phone to extract the photo and check email. In the incoming email was the same photo that was on my phone, with the same text, but with the addition of "Happy Halloween".

Is Ruby holding the green light saber? Is that Theo the green light saber is pointing at? Or is that Theo being Einstein? Is that David behind Ruby, with the red eyes?

And on the ground that looks like a poodle in a Halloween costume looking like my poodle nephew, Blue, who is currently residing in Doggy Heaven with his brother Max.

Late this afternoon of the first day of November another photo arrived in the email, asking if I guessed right. Below is that photo and below that we will see if I guessed which ones were David, Theo and Ruby...

Well, I got Zero right. When I replied to the email I had not looked at the original again and quickly assumed I guessed correctly with Ruby. But, Ruby is not holding the green light saber. Ruby is the one in blue to the left of the light saber. David is way in the back, the redhead. And Theo is in red, behind the green light saber.

Hank Frank & The Great Halloween Pumpkin

Earlier this 2021 Halloween, in a blogging about a Super Slug Halloween I wondered if I would be seeing Trick or Treat costume pictures today of David, Theo, Ruby, Spencer Jack and Hank Frank.

About an hour later the photo you see above showed up on my phone.

Hank Frank with a great giant pumpkin.

That is the Mount Baker volcano hovering above the foothills you see in the background behind Hank Frank.

Happy Super Slug Halloween

 

Most people who have spent any time at all in the Pacific Northwest will know what the above Halloween costume is costuming.

Known by most as slugs. By some as snails. They come in several sizes and colors, including the version known as a banana slug, due to being yellow.

Slugs are sort of the PNW pest equivalent of cockroaches. I never saw a cockroach til I moved to Texas. I don't think they exist in the Pacific Northwest. 

A couple years ago a friend of mine here, a lifelong Texan, flew up to Washington for the first time. Being surrounded by mountains for the first time in her life impressed her the most. She said she found the mountains mesmerizing.

And then there was this other thing she'd never seen before that she found disturbing.

Slugs.

On her first morning in Seattle she went out to the backyard of the friend's house in which she was staying and saw dozens of giant worm-like things leaving a trail of slime in their wake. She quickly retreated back into the house and alarmingly reported some sort of invasion was taking place in the backyard. The friends rushed outside, saw the invaders, and simultaneously said "slugs".

Slugs can be a big nuisance. I had a rooftop garden at my house in Mount Vernon. I grew strawberries, basil, spinach, blueberries and I forget what else. Somehow slugs managed to get up the stairs and into the various food growing containers.

You can buy slug bait which attracts and kills them, leaving a trail of slime and a slug corpse in its wake. Or you can put beer in a saucer. The beer attracts the slug, which then drowns, happily drunk.

I wonder if I will be getting Halloween costume pictures of David, Theo, Ruby, Spencer Jack and Hank Frank today?

Spencer Jack may have reached that age where he thinks he is too old to go trick or treating...

Pumpkin Picking With Tacoma Pumpkid Trio

Above you are looking at David, Theo and Ruby, my favorite Tacoma nephews and niece, also known as the Tacoma Trio, at their favorite pumpkin patch, where the pumpkids picked out several orange globes for Halloween carving purposes.

And below we see the finished products.

I have not read a word that I remember reading about how Halloween is going to work this COVID year.

The wearing a mask part of the ritual would seem to be adequately covered.

Maybe if those handing out the goods to the trick or treaters were masked and gloved.

Or maybe the goods could be delivered via some sort of tube.

Or a mechanical arm.

Maybe it would just be best if all the kids just stayed home this Halloween. 

Late Halloween With David, Theo & Ruby On A Real Island

Yesterday David, Theo & Ruby's Mama Michele emailed me with an update regarding next summer's Birch Bay stay.

I replied back and mentioned being surprised I had not seen any Halloween photos of the aforementioned David, Theo & Ruby.

Mama Michele then emailed back with several photos, with only one of the photos, that being the one you see here, being Halloween related.

I think I can only identify one of these costumed characters, and even that one I am not totally sure about. But, I think the third from the left, in basic black with red stripes, is Ruby. I am guessing that masked figure next to Ruby may be either David or Theo, with the skeleton on the far right also being either David or Theo, because none of the un-masked figures looks, to me, like either David or Theo.

And now on to the other photos, more recent than Halloween, since these were taken last weekend whilst David, Theo & Ruby drove their parental units to their new cabin on Hartstene Island. I made mention of the new cabin a couple months ago when I mentioned Ruby & David Racing Theo To New Cabin On Puget Sound Island.

For those reading this in Fort Worth, a town which only has imaginary islands surrounded by imaginary water connected by bridges built over dry land, who don't know what an actual island is, these are chunks of land surrounded by water, in this case islands in Puget Sound, which is a body of water which connects to the Pacific Ocean via the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

Above that is Theo, David & Ruby, and I have forgotten the name of the new family member, posing on a beach on a real island.

And here we see the trio on what is known as a beach. Those are also islands you see in the distance across Puget Sound. On a real island surrounded by real water this thing called the tide causes a thing called tidal flats to appear with predictable regularity.

I am looking forward to next summer at Birch Bay, which is an extremely shallow bay. When there is a low tide the beach at Birch Bay becomes huge. And then, if it is a blue sky warm day the sand on the beach heats up so much that when the tide rolls back in the water heats up, making the experience like swimming in a heated pool. This is particularly fun if the incoming tide comes in as the sun sets, with the swimming then being lit up by phosphorous illumination when one splashes the water.

Continuing on with some more beach scenes.

That appears to be Theo standing on a beached log. Beached logs are known as driftwood. It looks as if Theo is holding a large tree limb, but I suspect that is an illusion and that the limb is attached to the log.

My elderly memory just had a moment of possible clear thinking. I think the new poodle's name is Raven. That sounds right. Which would make that Raven on the log with Theo.

The above look at Hartstene Island looks like it could be a scene on a Hawaiian island, with the evergreens almost looking like palm trees. I do not know if that bridge across the channel was built over dry land, using the Fort Worth bridge building method, with the channel added later.  I can say, with almost 100% certainty, that no local politician's son had anything to do with building the bridge or digging the channel. Or creating the island.

Mama Michele made mention of the fact that they are enjoying exploring all the trails on the island. That would be photo documentation of doing so, above. I am fairly sure that is Ruby in the foreground. Not sure who that is ahead of Ruby.

In yesterday's email Michele said I needed to come check out their new cabin, soon, and have myself a mighty fine time exploring the island.

That does sound fun. I can not remember the last time I was actually on a real island.

Halloween Tonight With Spencer Jack & Linda Lou

Incoming email this Halloween morning from Spencer Jack and his paternal parental unit, FNJ, also known as my Favorite Nephew Jason.

The email included multiple \photos along with asking me the probing question "Are you ready for Halloween?"

The answer to that probing question is that I am as ready as I need to be.

Since I have been located in Texas my location has never been conducive to having my doorbell rang by trick or treating beggars.

When I lived in Washington, about three miles slightly northeast of where Spencer Jack is standing in this photo, in the neighborhood known as Thunderbird, I was inundated by trick or treaters.

The first few years of living at that location it was sort of fun having so many doorbell ringers on this particular night. And for a few years I had fun adding some Halloween touches, like a looping loud soundtrack of spooky noises.

I do not recollect, however, going as gungho with Halloween decorations as Spencer Jack appears to be doing.

Above we see a closer look at the doorbell location, with Spencer Jack holding a bowl full of candy bars.

One of the included photos documented what the little beggars will be getting tonight when they trick or treat at Spencer Jack's house.

That does look like a good supply, sufficient to handle the first wave of beggars.

Linda Lou lives a block or two from Spencer Jack's home location.

Linda Lou, if you are reading this, you should go trick or treating tonight at Spencer and Jason's.

I can't remember the name or number of the street, but it is due north off Blackburn, a block or two east of Hillcrest Park. I'm sure you can easily find it by looking for the 1435 house number and Spencer Jack's Halloween decorations.

I wonder if we will be seeing photo documentation of David, Theo & Ruby in trick or treat mode?

Happy Halloween From Zombies David, Ruby & Theo

That is Zombie David on the left, Zombie Ruby in the middle, which makes that Zombie Theo on the right.

When I was in Tacoma last summer I quickly learned how fond David, Theo and Ruby are about zombies.

My second day in Tacoma I found myself in a Tacoma community center where David, Theo and Ruby were taking some sort of immersive, intensive Lego oriented class.

I was never clear as to the Lego aspect of this class. But each day when we retrieved the kids from the Legos they were armed with multiple papers on which what looked to me like pixelated drawings, made with large pixels, which rendered images which to my eyes all looked the same.

However, when one of the kids, usually David or Theo, would show me an image and ask if I knew what it was the only time I was right was if I said it looked like a zombie. Like I said, all the images looked the same to me, but apparently some were non-zombies. Things like lions, tigers, bears and snakes.

Spending quality time with David, Theo and Ruby was the first time this century I have spent quality time with pre-teenage kids.

I had no idea so much has changed regarding a kid's world. I don't think zombies had been invented when I was a kid.

When I was a kid we had cartoons like the Flintstones, Popeye, Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, the Mickey Mouse knock-off known as Mighty Mouse, the Jetsons, the Roadrunner, and others.

Each morning I was in Tacoma I joined David, Theo and Ruby for cartoon viewing. The cartoons seemed a bit disturbingly dystopian to my sensitive nature. Each morning we watched this one "cartoon" where we joined in a battle against evil monsters, helping a good guy superhero. At multiple points during the battle the good guy superhero would stop the action, turn to us and implore us to help with the spell he needed to cast to thwart the evil doer/

We were told to stand, to do this, to do that. When I just sat there watching in amused amazement, David, Theo and Ruby got upset, imploring me to join in with the effort to help the good guy superhero thwart the bad guy. And so I would find myself joining in with the casting of the spell.

I felt as if I had joined a cult.

And then there was Mindcraft, or Minecraft, or some such name. This was a video game played on Amazon Kindles. Played by David and Theo. An interactive game with their two Kindles connected via wi-fi.

My first morning in Tacoma I found myself caught between David and Theo in a Kindle battle caused by this aforementioned video game.

Suddenly Theo cried out that David had stolen one of his hearts. David did not deny the theft, quickly telling Theo it was his fault because Theo left his heart unprotected. Theo demanded David return his heart.

David then told Theo that he could not return Theo's stolen heart because he had already buried it in his Garden of Eternal Memories.

Theo accepted the futility of retrieving his stolen heart. And the game proceeded.

And then it happened again, with Theo crying out David had stolen another of his hearts. Again David told Theo it was Theo's fault for leaving his hearts unprotected.

I then found myself sucked into this bizarre world when I found myself saying to Theo that he had been warned by David to not leave his hearts unprotected. I then found myself imploring David if there was any way he could see his way clear to getting Theo's stolen hearts out of his Garden of Eternal Memories and returning them to his little brother.

David said it was possible, but it took a lot of effort and would require the acquisition of a variety of difficult to acquire magic spells and potions.

I walked away.

Happy Halloween, one and all, especially my favorite Zombies, David, Theo and Ruby...

Nurse Canecracker's Halloween One Night Stand

I saw that which you see here last night via Facebook.

The caption accompanying the photo said...

"One Night Stand".

It took me a second or two or three to get that which was the "One Night Stand".

Very clever.

That is Nurse Canecracker costumed for Halloween as "One Night Stand".

I know Nurse Canecracker is scheduled to go on a Caribbean cruise sometime during the late fall time frame. I do not know if it was during this Caribbean cruise Nurse Canecracker attended a Halloween party as a "One Night Stand".

I last saw Nurse Canecracker last summer, on August 13, at Birch Bay, a few miles south of the Canadian border.

Betty Jo Bouvier had chauffeured Nurse Canecracker north from their Skagit Valley home location to visit me for the first time since early in the last decade of the previous century.

I shudder at the thought of how old I will be if another couple decades pass before I visit again with Nurse Canecracker and Betty Jo Bouvier.

I have no way of knowing if Nurse Canecracker plans to do any active trick or treating whilst in "One Night Stand" mode. Or if this was just Halloween attire being tested for use on Tuesday at home in Mount Vernon, getting ready to greet the hordes of little beggars. Or party attire for floating somewhere between Caribbean islands.

Spencer Jack's Hillcrest Mount Vernon location is about two blocks from Nurse Canecracker's home location. I hope Spencer Jack goes trick or treating at Nurse Canecracker's and photo documents Nurse Canecracker's "One Night Stand"....

Wichita Falls Halloween Nightmare On Ellingham Street

A few days ago I was returning from the downtown Wichita Falls library, heading south on Taft Boulevard, when I came upon a Halloween scene the likes of which I do not remember previously seeing.

On Saturday I rolled my bike's wheels to that aforementioned Halloween scene intending to photo document that which I had seen whilst driving by.

However, it should have occurred to me, what with a strong wind blowing, on Saturday, and a predicted incoming severe storm, that that Halloween scene would be deflated and stored safely from the wind. Which is what I saw when I rolled to the Halloween scene location.

Then yesterday on my way back from ALDI, driving my motorized means of vehicular motion, I drove by the Halloween scene again, saw inflation was back in force, so I took the picture you see above through the driver's side window.

Then, an hour or two later, having not liked the vehicle based photos, I rolled my bike back to the Halloween scene location hoping to do some better photo documentation. Which is what you see below.

The photos do not do justice to this Halloween scene. My camera could not capture all of it in one shot.

Where does one find a giant inflatable black cat such as we see above?

I think the orange trailer had some sort of motion detector, because when motion was detected the trailer's door opened and a ghoul poked its head out the door.

I have seen other elaborate Wichita Falls Halloween displays, but none as big and varied as this one. The others I have seen seem to stick to a theme. Such as a GIANT spider crawling off a roof to an elaborate GIANT web.

I think the year was 2005, October of, I was up in Washington, staying at Clancy & Fancy's in Kent. Clancy & Fancy's next door neighbors at that point in time were a pair of fun loving gals named Mo and Margo.

Mo and Margo went all out for Halloween, with an elaborate themed display in their front yard. Sort of pirate themed, with skeletons, some of which moved when motion was detected. If I remember right there was a screaming sound effect, a big spider that dropped suddenly near the front door, a treasure chest which mysteriously opened out of which an eerie fog spewed and a skeleton glowed.

2005 is a long time ago, over a decade, so my memory of Mo and Margo's Halloween scene may be a bit faulty, with pieces missing. I remember taking video of it, but due to the darkness, that video did not turn out well. The video may still exist on this computer. But, I do not feel too motivated to look for it. That always turns into taking way too long due to finding multiple other videos to look at that I barely remember.

A few more looks at the Wichita Falls Halloween Nightmare on Ellingham Street...

If you want to see the Wichita Falls Halloween Nightmare on Ellingham Street with your own spooky eyes, you will find it at the intersection of Taft Boulevard and Ellingham Street, a short distance north of the MSU (Midwestern State University) campus.

2016 Halloween With Spencer Jack In Mount Vernon

Last night, long after the trick or treaters ceased trick or treating in my time zone, Spencer Jack's dad text messaged photo and text documentation of Spencer Jack's Halloween.

Spencer Jack is loving handing out candy.

He chose this over trick or treating this year, despite having an awesome home made Lego brick costume he wore to his school Halloween function this weekend.

FUD needs to hurry over to get a treat. Supplies are quickly dwindling.

Our neighborhood is currently full of candy seekers.

________________

Well, I did not make it to Mount Vernon in time to trick or treat Spencer Jack.

Below is Spencer Jack in the aforementioned Lego costume, with the almost depleted Halloween candy supply on the table next to Spencer Jack.

I have had only one normal Washington type Halloween since I have been in Texas.

And that one time happened in 2005 when I was in Washington over Halloween. I was staying at my ex-wife's place in Kent. That is a suburb south of Seattle. The next door neighbor had their yard decorated like they'd hired Imagineers from Disney. Sound effects, motion activated ghoulish things.

The constant onslaught of groups of trick or treaters did not abate til after 10, give or take a minute or two.

When I lived in Mount Vernon, in east Mount Vernon, in what is known as the Thunderbird neighborhood, I'd get well over 100 candy beggars. Probably way more than 100. I did not count either the number of beggars or the amount of candy I had ready for them.

My first location in Texas was in a northern suburb of Fort Worth called Haslet. And isolated ranch type place with a long driveway to walk before a candy beggar would reach the front door. I don't recollect any trick or treaters making the trek to that front door.

My next location in Texas was in east Fort Worth, behind a security gate and fence. Zero trick or treaters.

My current location in Texas has no security gate or fence, is in a nice neighborhood, with something quite rare in Fort Worth.

Sidewalks.

And yet, once again, I got not one knock on the door from any candy beggars. I had a supply of Reese's Peanut Butter bars ready to go, but none went.

I purposely get a candy product which I do not care for, so as to not have any temptation to consume any leftovers.

I have never been much of a candy fan, but I did used to enjoy Halloween, when I lived in Washington. The trick or treating when I was younger, and like Spencer Jack, the handing out the candy when I was no longer young.

A Pre-Halloween Visit With The Village Creek Indian Ghosts Prior To Trick Or Treating With Butter From ALDI

Today I needed to get myself a pound of butter at ALDI, along with other weight gain nutrients, so I decided prior to getting fat gain enablers, I'd go to Arlington to the Village Creek Natural Historical Area to check in on the Indian Ghosts on the day before one of their favorite holidays.

Halloween.

All of which explains why you see my handlebars parked on the Village Creek paved trail.

Upon arrival at the Natural Area's paved parking lot I saw an Arlington Animal Control Officer releasing several opossums back to the semi-wild. I see this so often I can not help but conclude that Arlington is over run with possums.

I did not get any candy type material at ALDI to hand out to trick or treaters tomorrow. I get no trick or treaters. I am behind a security fence which blocks trick or treaters.

When I lived in Mount Vernon I would get 100s of trick or treaters on a good night with good weather. A rainy Halloween would cut down the number of beggars. My house was mid way up a steep cul-de-sac, with the walk to the front door up a long flight of stairs.

Due to it being a nice neighborhood people would come from other areas to trick or treat me and my neighbors. This never bothered me. A couple days ago I read on Facebook a discussion among people taking umbrage at the gall someone from another neighborhood would intrude to do some candy begging.

This attitude seemed sort of offputting to me. That and sort of meanspirited.

Anyway, it's time for lunch now. Oodles of butter will be incorporated into that which I will be eating, but no candy....

Happy Halloween With Little Dean & The Mermaid

It being Halloween I felt compelled to share this ultra cute photo of Little Dean, the Pirate and his little sister, Autumn the Mermaid.

If Little Dean the Pirate and Autumn the Mermaid knock on your door tonight you better have a real good treat to give them.

Or risk the tricky wrath of a Pirate and a Mermaid....

No Scary Weather For Halloween In North Texas

The weather predictor's predictions for yesterday at my location on the planet pretty much did not play out as predicted.

I was almost 100% certain we were in for some BIG storming yesterday, what with the forecast of t-storms, damaging winds, large hail and possible tornadoes.

Yesterday I saw no flashes of lightning, heard no thunder booms, saw no downpours, saw no hail bouncing on the ground, experienced no damaging winds and did not hear the tornado sirens blaring.

What I did see yesterday was a Pacific Northwest type mild rain, with a few moments of going from mild to light, with the dripping lasting a couple hours.

Reading the local news this morning I saw no mention of flash floods or any storm related news.

So, did this predicted storm miss all of North Texas?

I do not recollect in times past in Texas the weather predictors missing the mark as frequently as what seems to be happening of late. Is this a function of the changing weather patterns with the old model for the old weather patterns no longer being predictably reliable?

And now blue sky has returned, hours ahead of its predicted return, which portends well for the Halloween trick or treaters tonight....

Spencer Jack's Jack-O-Lanterns Are Ready For Halloween

Spencer Jack Working On His Pumpkins

Earlier in the month I made mention of the tragic smashing of my great grand nephew, Spencer Jack's, Halloween pumpkin.

I have received multiple inquires regarding the current state of affairs regarding Spencer Jack's Jack-O-Lantern situation.

Well, I am pleased to report that Spencer Jack's favorite girl friend, Brittney, took him back to the pumpkin patch, where Spencer Jack found himself two new pumpkins.

One big, one little.

I do not remember painting pumpkins during my pumpkin carving, Jack-O-Lantern making, years. This must be a new thing the younger generation has added to the Halloween pumpkin carving tradition.

Below is the finished result of Spencer Jack's 2012 Halloween Pumpkin Jack-O-Lanterns. I am assuming that after the picture was taken Spencer Jack moved the pumpkins back inside the house so as to avoid a repeat of the previous smashed pumpkin tragedy.

Why are carved pumpkins called Jack-O-Lanterns I am sitting here wondering? Yes, I know I can end the wondering by doing some Googling. I have a tendency to wonder about something and then remember the answer is easily found.

Spencer Jack Goes Pumpkin Hunting While I Am In Texas Thinking About The Dreaded Holiday Season

A few minutes ago, after I found out, via Facebook and Google, that Mitt Romney is Completely Wrong, I came upon a picture of my great grand nephew (or is it grand great nephew? I never know) Spencer Jack.

Apparently Spencer's favorite girl friend, Brittney, took him pumpkin hunting.

October seems to be melting away very quickly, with over a third of the 10th month of 2012 already passed into history.

Soon it will be Halloween, quickly followed by November and the dreaded (by me) holiday season, with Thanksgiving, Christmas and a New Year arriving.

I am almost 100% certain that at some point in time during that dreaded (by me) holiday season I will be in Arizona.

I do not believe I will be in Arizona during the Christmas part of the dreaded (by me) holiday season. It will be earlier in the month.

I have not spent Christmas with my mom and dad since Christmas of the year 2000, also in Arizona, but further south and west, in Yuma.

That was a very pleasant Christmas. It was where I saw my first ever luminarias.

Christmas morning breakfast was at a Yuma casino, followed by a trip to the Mexican border town of Algodones where I got some cool artwork and was offered real cheap Viagra whilst walking the streets of Algodones in front of my mom and dad.

The Viagra offer was vaguely embarrassing.

I wonder what Spencer Jack's Halloween costume will be this year? Last year he was a railroad crossing. That unique Halloween costume got Spencer Jack in the Skagit Valley Herald for the first time.

I remember Spencer's Uncle Joey, he being my nephew, texted me telling me "Spencer in SVH."  I got that text whilst hiking the Tandy Hills. By the time I got back to my computer Spencer's grandma, she being my favorite ex-sister-in-law, had emailed me with the same message, albeit with a bit more text.

Walking The Tandy Hills Where I Learned Spencer Jack Was a Railroad Crossing For Halloween

Spencer Jack, 4, showed his love of all things trains Monday
dressing up as a railroad crossing sign, complete with red
lights and the words "stop on red signal" on his shirt.

Whilst walking in a serene section of the Tandy Hills Natural Sanatorium Area today I got a text message from my Nephew Joey, from up in Washington, telling me that there was a cute picture of Joey's Nephew, my Grand Nephew, Spencer Jack, in yesterday's Halloween edition of the Skagit Valley Herald.

I found the picture of Spencer Jack fairly easy. Years ago Spencer Jack's Grandma, my favorite ex-sister-in-law, sent me the login info needed so that I could view the e-edition of the Skagit Valley Herald, which is an exact replica of the print version.

But I long ago lost that login info.

The Skagit Valley Herald started something called goskagit.com which sort of collects all the various Skagit Valley Herald Publishing's publications under one virtual roof. It was via goskagit.com I found Spencer Jack.

Spencer Jack is now 4. When he was younger his hobby was to collect vacuum cleaners. I don't know if Spencer Jack got totally over his vacuum cleaner fixation, but I do know he has added trains to what he likes.

So, for Halloween, Spencer Jack went costumed as a Railroad Crossing.

From His Blog Spencer Jack's
Latest School Picture

I am almost 100% certain the town Spencer Jack is in in the picture is downtown Mount Vernon.

When Spencer Jack's dad, my Nephew Jason, was a kid, his transportation fixations of choice were two things.

The Seattle Monorail and the Washington State Ferries.

By the time Jason was a teenager he'd built a scale model version of the entire Washington ferry fleet. That's a lot of boats. I believe the Washington State Ferry System is the 3rd biggest in the world.

I have seen other train related pictures of Spencer Jack on his blog. I'd give you the link to Spencer Jack's blog, but he only lets you go there by invitation only.

Up Late On The Last Day Of October Waiting For Halloween & Thinking About Burlington Washington

Looking out my primary viewing portal on the world you might guess that I arose after the sun on this last day of October.

Your guess would have been correct.

We need not discuss why I awoke much later than my norm. Suffice to say I was tired.

Today is Halloween. Tonight I'm going to put on my Kay Granger costume and go trick or treating.

Switching the subject, now, to my favorite subject. The temperature.

In a very rare coincidence, this morning, the temperature at my current location and my old location in Washington are the same.

45 degrees currently.

Speaking of my old hometown location, the town I grew up in, Burlington, Washington, this morning the Skagit Valley Herald had a little article about Burlington.

Growing up in little Burlington, currently with a population of less than 9,000, sort of warped my view of the world. Burlington is sort of a boom town, with sidewalks lining every street. And a very good library.

And then I moved to Fort Worth.

I did not know parts of America were 3rd world-like until I moved to Fort Worth.

Below is a blurb from this morning's article about my old hometown from the Skagit Valley Herald....

Take a drive down Burlington Boulevard, with its bumper-to-bumper weekend traffic and door-to-door strip malls, and it’s hard to imagine the Burlington of 40 years ago.

The major food processors that once dominated the landscape — Darigold, frozen food packers and canneries — are all gone. A shopping mall, big box stores and auto dealers have sprouted from farmland once bursting with crops.

Burlington has had to redefine itself many times over through the years, as technology, transportation and an ever-increasing population have transformed it from an agricultural hub to the shopping mecca of Skagit County.

Many Burlington residents say all that development — and the tax dollars it brings — is just fine with them. In fact, some would say it’s a reflection of two of the city’s biggest assets: its community cohesiveness and the foresight of its leaders.

For all of the town’s changes, the values of Burlington residents — what they want out of life and how hard they will work to get it — haven’t wavered, said Margaret Fleek, the city’s planning director.

“There’s no apathy in Burlington and there never has been,” said Fleek, who lives in Lyman. “People really care about their little town on the flats. ... It totally has its values intact regardless of what’s happening on the I-5 corridor.”

It Is Almost Halloween With Elsie Hotpepper Being A Real Witch

Witch Elsie Hotpepper

Elsie Hotpepper seemed to have gone a bit missing the past day or two.

During that gone a bit missing time frame I've gotten a couple very cryptic messages from Elsie Hotpepper that my computerized cryptic message decoder was unable to decode.

And then just a few minutes ago I got a message from Elsie Hotpepper that I was able to understand.

A  simple question asking if I liked her costume for Monday's Halloween Party.

I'm guessing, due to the pointy hat, that Elsie is being a witch on Halloween. Other than the hat the rest of the ensemble does not look too witch-like to me.

I don't think I have been invited to this Halloween Party that Elsie Hotpepper is turning into a witch for.

My Ex Searching For Me & Sending Me Wiener Dog Halloween Jack O' Lanterns

Seconds ago I saw incoming email on my second monitor, subject line: "Your Ex Has Searched For You."

Obvious spam. I know for certain my "Ex" is not searching for me, because she already knows where I am.

In fact, just this morning my "Ex" sent me the cute picture you see here, of Bean the Wiener Dog and her Halloween Jack O' Lantern.

Bean has a sister named Rosie the Rat Dog. I don't know why I did not get a picture of Rosie with her Jack O' Lantern.

Maybe Rosie was a bad girl this year and did not get her annual Jack O' Lantern.

Rosie and Bean have a new sister, whom I have not met. Her name is Tillie. I believe Tillie is also a Dachshund, aka Wiener Dog.

Did Tillie not get a Jack O' Lantern either?