Weather in the Tries: Saturday and Sunday were cool but mostly sunny. Starting Monday it will be mostly cloudy with lows down to 30 and highs (one day) all the way up to 59. Most of the highs will be mid 50s, most of the lows will be high 30s to low 40s.,

Happy Halloween:

I hope we have our usual amount of trick or treaters tonight (remember, I write this the day before you read it) which is zero. We do have a couple of kidlets in the complex, but I have nothing to give out.

But I do have a Halloween story for you:

I was four, it was summer, I was bored, and we were poor (but I had no concept of that at the time) and I wanted some candy. I had been a good girl and thought I deserved some. Mom explained that we didn’t have any and we didn’t have money for candy. What was a girl to do?

I shrugged and said okay and went back to playing. But this devious mind of mine developed early.

Fast forward an hour or two, and Mom caught me chewing something and wanted to know what I was eating.

“Candy,” I said.

“Candy? Where did you get it?” Now that I think about it, there was probably a lot of concern I had no clue of at the time. What had I done for what dirty old man that he gave me candy?

I produced a paper bag with several candies in it. “From the neighbors. I went Trick or Treating.” I was quite proud of myself that I’d solved my problem, and my sweet tooth, without any adult help. Well, other than giving me candy when they answered the door.

Poor Mom, she had no idea who I had frauded, and she heard later from various neighborhood sources that some sweet little girl had come around Trick or Treating and she was so cute and the idea so novel, they had to share their largess.

But I learned we can only go Trick or Treating one night a year. Bummer, eh?

November is American Indian Heritage Month. I shall honor my Ancestors to the best of my ability. (I do that anyhow, but I’ll make a special attempt the whole month. Honest. Trust me.)

You can honor your favorite Catawba and buy my new book, The Bride’s Gate and Other Assorted Writings. A friend who is also a writer, says some of my stories remind him of Kurt Vonnegut! Wowser! Talk about high praise.

Photo of the Week:

Entertainment:

Movie: Dune 3D.  OMG. I have to go back and see it again!!! This is the first time I’ve been in a theater in about 10 years. I have avoided them like the plague (or Covid). They are sooooo loud, they not only make my ears hurt, they give me serious headaches for a couple days. But I so wanted to see the new Dune on a big screen. AND in 3D. The last time I saw a 3D movie I was in elementary school, and they had the lenses in two colors glued into cardboard. These glasses were plastic, and the lenses were clear. I’m assuming they were polarized, but haven’t bothered to look it up.

The ONLY gripe about the movie is its Part I. We have to wait a couple years for part 2. If you are familiar with the story, get thee to a theater, preferably a 3D one. Yes, they left out a couple scenes that I remember as being important, but it’s been 21 years (at least) since the last time I read it. They made some changes, but one can’t just dump a book into a movie without some changes. The movie got to about the half way part of the book, according to something I read. And, no, I’m not going to tell you any more than that.

Oh, and the soundtrack was loud, but not LOUD like the last time I was in a theater. I had actually removed my hearing aids and was preparing to put in some really good ear plugs. I ended up putting my aids back in my ears and enjoying the movie. If you’re not familiar with the story, I think it would still make sense, but I don’t know for sure. If you’re not familiar with the story, and go see it, would you please let me know if it made sense?

Quotes of the Week (from the new Dune movie):

“The mystery of life isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.” – Jamis

And of course, the most famous of all Dune Quotes, book or movie:

“I must not fear. Fear is the Mind-Killer. Fear is the little death that brings obliteration.” — Litany Against Fear, spoken by Lady Jessica.

Personally, I prefer Reverend Mother Odrade’s version better: “Face your fears or they will ride your back.” As she said, it’s much simpler to remember. (I think that was from Chapter House Dune.)

And there it is, Gentle Readers, your Coffee Break Escape for the week. Uh, don’t try the movie during coffee break. Unless you take your boss with you. I had a couple of bosses back in the day, who would have gone with me and loved it. But one would have felt dire guilt, I think.

And a note on the brave dog. I was gone all day Saturday from about 7am to 9pm and I left Sammy with a neighbor. He was a good boy and loved every minute. No heart ache I had left him. He seemed to know I’d be back. Of course, he visits that neighbor every day or so and “inspects” the floor;-)

Having yourself a fantastically wonderful week. And go see Dune 3D.