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Well, my kids are too old to dress up anymore. But they sure were cute when they did. Above are just a few examples. And yes, Lovely Wife did make all those costumes. But, there is new generation of young cuties on the horizon. My pick for this years most adorable Halloween costume is pictured below.
Now, as a member of a Southern Baptist Church let me tell you, we're not too keen on Halloween. In fact, we're not even allowed to say the H-word (I kid...really). But, being the industrious denomination we have come up with an alternative--The Fall Festival. By sheer coincidence, it occurs in late October. Yes, there is candy. Well, some people do dress up in costumes. But, it is not in any way related to the H-word. At any rate, the theme for this years Fall Festival was Heroes. Bible Heroes. The kids had to meet each Bible Hero and get a B.H. trading card--which they could then exchange for prizes. Members were assigned to walk around dressed as Noah, or Mary or Moses. Yours truly was the Caretaker of the Tomb and I shared the Secret of the Empty Tomb to the youngsters. Lovely wife made a fabulous parklike setting with a cavelike tomb for my performances (of which there were like 20!). I shared the gospel with the youngsters and I gave out the Jesus card. Yup, I had the big One. The great I AM. The Alpha and Omega. Yeshua. That beats Halloween anytime.
Well, they don't make homecoming dances like they used to...or maybe they do. They're still at the High School. They still have chaperones. They still have new music. What they don't have anymore are boys. This evening, Lovely Daughter and her friends all put on their finery and went to the dance en masse. They all hung out together, giggled, and danced in big groups. The only boys who actually go to the dance are the ones who have dates (see left for approximate ratio). The girls--being the social butterfiles that they are--are drawn to these dances like junebugs to porch lights. Now, if a boy was smart he would go stag to the dance and have his pick--'cause that's where all the girls are. But H.S. boys are not smart. In fact, college boys are not too smart. And that, my friends, is why women rule the world.
It's the birthday season around here. Lovely Daughter turned 16 last month and now The BoyHead has turned eighteen. He's entered into manhood (does that mean I have to start calling him ManHead?--I think not). We'll it didn't make the papers around here, since he was away at school on the precious day. But now he's back now for a long weekend and he brought his new guitar (which we bought him for his B-Day). It's a Palmer (no, I've never heard of one either) acoustic-electric and it sounds very nice. Here's a little clip of him playing Over the Hills and Far Away by Led Zeppelin. It's good to know that he's learning the classics.
I suppose that I really should drone on and on about how this is such a rite of passage. How he's now becoming a man with grown-up responsibilities (money, car, grades, job?). He'll have to register with Selective Service. He can vote (but probably won't). But mostly, I'm just so glad to see him again. I really have missed that little punk. Happy Birthday ManHead.
The BoyHead has begun his illustrious college career and has pledged the Delta Chi fraternity. As a father, I'm both concerned and proud. Of course, everyone has heard of all the shenanigans ascribed to frat boys. The drinking, debauchery and womanizing. I only pray that we've raised the young BoyHead to avoid those temptations. Well, most of them. Most of the time. After all, he's got to keep up his grades. On the other hand, I'm glad that he's making the most of his college experience. He's active in the fraternity, he's playing intramurals, he's an honor student and--get this--BoyHead said that he actually likes the mandatory weekly study time at the frat house. It gives him time to do his reading and other studies that he "might not get to otherwise". I'd much rather he be doing all that than sitting in his dorm room 12 hours per day playing HALO. We bought him a new acoustic guitar for his 18th birthday (in advance) and he's been playing it regularly. So I say, "Bully!" to the B.H. as he continues to soar.