'Tis Already The Season

The last thing I knew, I was getting ready for Halloween.  Candy had been purchased, and decorations were ready to go up.  Then I blinked - and lo and behold, it was Thankistmas. 

The stores all know it's the season, they're just not sure what season it is.  As a result, shopping is now a schizophrenic experience. I'm finding Halloween clearances next to Thanksgiving displays, which are right beside the Christmas specials.  Here's one of the high-end malls in our city, clearly caught in a case of Harvestistmas:  simultaneous pumpkin displays and Christmas trees.

My neighbors are clearly equally confused:  on my street, you'll find an elaborate Halloween display, a flock of inflatable turkeys, and the first of the holiday light displays.  I wouldn't be surprised if next year we can buy a Santa which comes with a Halloween costume and a pilgrim outfit, so we can just put up decorations once and change outfits as the mood strikes us.  If you have ideas on how to deal with this multiple holiday simulcast, please share them!

I was at the Harvestistmas mall to watch my husband deliver a doghouse he built and donated to the SPCA for their Home for the Holidays fundraiser.  If you're visiting this mall, you can buy raffle tickets to win the doghouse of your choice, with all proceeds benefiting the SPCA to help them rescue, heal, and find homes for thousands of animals in the area.  (Pssst:  vote for the big red fire hydrant doghouse!)

And finally, last night I attended the premiere of a documentary of eyewitness accounts about JFK's visit to Dallas fifty years ago.  The film appropriately premiered at the Texas Theater, which was where Lee Harvey Oswald was apprehended the afternoon of that fateful day. The documentary, which will be a PBS special, was fascinating as it featured recent interviews with eyewitnesses of the event, many of them now in their eighties and speaking candidly.  But hardly had the credits finished rolling when the first controversial question was lobbed to the panel moderator - by one of the eyewitnesses!  On this painful subject, the only point upon which everyone will ever be able to agree is that it is now history.

Now, back to my normal blogging schedule!