October 30, 2025

I was tempted to follow an example I’d set up once or twice before, when my monthly email would be replicated in its entirety for the accompanying blog.  Perhaps for no other reason than to present the wonderful Halloween photos I took right here on West 87th Street!

But then again, I considered marrying these “scary” pictures with the real-life scariness we’re all living through today...

This one could represent our crazed leader, laughing at the charred remains of the powerless victims he’s sure to be leaving behind…

And this one seems to indicate all hope is lost and there’s nothing we can do to rectify the damage already done…

But then again…

The little kid pictured here would never have wanted to have such a fun holiday tainted by such rancid associations…

As long as his red “toque” was on properly and he was dressed to resist cold temperatures, this little boy would be ready for whatever after-school adventure he might stumble upon.

I remember being interested in politics at an extremely early age.  But never at the expense of Halloween or Christmas!

(Incidentally, after all these years I only NOW realize the proper spelling for this french word for a knit cap is “toque” - and that it’s supposed to be pronounced “tuk” while my French Canadian side of the family always gave it the extra couple of o’s, as in “tooook”…)

(And incidentally again, I came upon this photo last week by FINALLY checking out the first collection of home movies my brothers Jeff and Tom immortalized digitally TEN YEARS AGO!  There are three separate DVDs and maybe I’ll get to the second one tonight.  Why not - game six of the World Series isn’t on until tomorrow…)

(And like that kid pictured above, I’m still a baseball fan!)

So I guess the theme of this month’s blog is to avoid letting the state of the world and our country get you so far down that the idea of having fun seems almost absurd.  There’s a little child inside each one of us who can still find the most peculiar reasons to break into an unexpected smile.

Happy Halloween.

Have fun!!

And remember - Thanksgiving and Christmas are not far behind!