Dear Reader:

Happy Halloween!

Last week I was browsing through children’s books on Amazon.com about Halloween…and when I found this old Scholastic one…I had to laugh out loud. This little children’s book (written by a “Barber”) features a ghost named “Ben.” (Very similar to my brother Ben’s last name Barbour.) So that first caught my attention.

Then when I read the synopsis I really did laugh. Ben is a ghost who can’t say “Boo!” He can say “Moo” and “Woo” but not “Boo.” At this point I knew I had to order this book.

Walsh, my oldest son, has always signed his nickname to cards with “Woo or “Woo Woo.” And I don’t know who first started calling me “Moo” (Ben or Walsh) but it stuck and cards from both of them are always addressed to me  with “Moo Moo.”

Then, of course, along came the grandchildren and I got my old collegiate nickname back…which remains to this day….”Boo or Boo Boo.” Who knew?

Eva Cate and Jakie have three grandmothers… nicknamed “Ba Ba” “Be-Be” and “Boo.” In other words, collectively we are  “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!” (From the 1950 Cinderella Disney movie) The words that can make dreams come true. And isn’t that what grandmothers want to do with their grandchildren… with the best magic of all….LOVE!)

 (1 min clip) Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo (from Cinderella) – YouTube

When I saw this funny true Halloween (firemen) story I had to laugh.

The Firefighters’ Halloween Treat

Notice:

County Community Burn Ordinances Pertaining to recreational fires and burning of yard and household waste.

All outdoor burning is prohibited in the City except for those parcels described in ordinance. Recreational fires are allowed, but not during the hours of 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.

At 8:00 pm on October 31st two fire-fighters could see a fire raging in the back yard.  It was clearly in breach of the rule on burning leaves after dark.  One of the fireman knocked on the door, and they both waited each holding their helmet in their hand.

The little old woman opened the door and promptly dropped a bar of candy into each helmet.  She then told them, ‘Aren’t you boys are a little old for trick and treat, and closed the door’.  The fire-fighters left open mouthed.

The Halloween Comet

Out in the Andromeda galaxy is a newly discovered comet.  The C/2007 L1 is one of the most unusual structures that astronomers have ever seen.

On October 31st, 2007, astro-photographer Pedro Torres of Puebla, Mexico, took a close-up picture of the comet’s core.  Pedro used a combination of two 120-second exposures obtained using a 30-cm reflector, a Sigma 6303 CCD camera, and a blue filter.

The photograph was taken at a perihelion distance of 1.07 AU.  What it reveals is startling new structure in the center of comet C/2007 L1.  The whole of the coma is very brilliant and unusually, the nucleus containing two extra bright eyes.  The comet’s tail was not curved thus producing a circular effect. 

Pedro has applied to the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for the official name of comet C/2007 L1 to be called ‘Halloween’.

This last anecdote is a famous tall tale from Vienna that now is told every Halloween about the cemetery Beethoven is laid to rest in.

Tall Tale from Vienna Graveyard

Chris Cross, a tourist in Vienna, is going past Vienna’s Zentralfriedhof graveyard on October 31st.  All of a sudden he hears some music.  No one is around, so he starts searching for the source.  Chris finally locates the origin and finds it is coming from a grave with a headstone that reads: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827. Then he realizes that the music is the Ninth Symphony and it is being played backward! Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and persuades Tim Burr, a friend, to return with him.

By the time they arrive back at the grave, the music has changed. This time it is the Seventh Symphony, but like the previous piece, it is being played backward. Curious, the men agree to consult a music scholar. When they return with the expert, the Fifth Symphony is playing, again backward. The expert notices that the symphonies are being played in the reverse order in which they were composed, the 9th, then the 7th, then the 5th.  By the next day the word has spread and a throng has gathered around the grave. They are all listening to the Second Symphony being played backward.

Just then the graveyard’s caretaker ambles up to the group. Someone in the crowd asks him if he has an explanation for the music.

“Oh, it’s nothing to worry about” says the caretaker. “He’s just decomposing!”

(I know, I know :)…but hey it’s Halloween!)

So until tomorrow…I hope you have more treats than tricks this Halloween and your home embraces childhood memories…like trick or treating- that wonderful day when imagination is allowed to bloom! Everyone be safe!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

My little dwarf camellia bushes decided to surprise “Boo” me on Halloween by blooming…the blooms are bigger than the plants. Happy Halloween camellias…thank for the treat!

When Eva Cate gave me the Christmas Tree ornament (decorated for breast cancer awareness) she also gave me a card with a dollar in it. Now times they are a’changing…when your grandchild gives you money…too funny, too cute!

(Maybe I need to sweep more too…and find a dollar …love my treat card!)