Now here’s an evocative photo: Workers at a Georgia Ford plant cheering the approach of unemployment, symbolized by the completion of the last Ford Taurus, seen here. It seems to be a strange emotion, until you think about it a little: We don’t call it “whistling past the graveyard” for nothing. Once more unto the breach. Irish wakes. Who wants to go out like a sad sack? There’s plenty of time for crying later, when you’re standing in the unemployment office. For now, give a cheer to 20 years of Tauruses, and remember where you were when it all ended.
As usual, Micheline Maynard is the go-to source for the explainer.
Friends, I’m making a proactive decision. The weather is mild, the sun is shining, my workload is light (at least at this hour). I think I’m going to take myself outside in it and give you the short end of the shrift, or whatever. Take this opportunity to make the comments your playground. It’s not the end of my particular production line, but there are leaves to rake. TTFN.
Danny said on October 30, 2006 at 11:34 am
Enjoy the day, Nance. I’m home with the flu today.
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brian stouder said on October 30, 2006 at 11:38 am
So how many Halloween parties have you been to, so far? The young folks and I have been to 3 so far – and I am happy to report that the surprisingly messy (and germ-ridden, no doubt!) apple-bobbing thing has gone by the wayside, replaced by doughnut nibbing – wherein you suspend a 10 or twelve doughnuts from the ceiling (the garage-door rail worlks well) and have the kids hold their hands behind their backs, and turn them loose to try and eat them. Hilarity enuses!
Still to come – the neighborhood walkaround tomorrow.
Pammy was discouraged when she visited WalMart so as to augment our candy cache, and found that the Halloween aisle has ALREADY been supplanted by Christams junk (mostly all from China, no doubt)! She was ready to scrub the mission, but as we discussed it, we agreed that you cannot turn your kids loose in the neighborhood if you are not also giving candy out….and so she hung up her cell phone and soldiered on.
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mary said on October 30, 2006 at 11:44 am
Brian
She should hand out candy canes for Halloween. Just let kids know they aren’t left over from last year.
We don’t get too many kids, so I buy stuff I like. Dove chocolate leaves are this year’s offering. For the kids down the street I made pumpkin muffins, but their parents know me, I know them, no suspicion of weirdness….
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Connie said on October 30, 2006 at 11:46 am
Since my kid is away at college I am going to turn off the lights and watch TV in the basement family room, in lieu of spending 30 or 40 dollars on candy to give to unknown kids.
Didn’t we have this conversation already?
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brian stouder said on October 30, 2006 at 11:55 am
Pumpkin muffins sound great! Speaking of ‘suspicion of weirdness’, good ol’ NN traditionally recounts those ridiculous stories about hospitals offering free X-Rays of candy that the young folks collected….but this year I heard a cake-taker.
Is it Lima, Ohio? – someplace in the buckeye state, anyway – is rounding up all known sex-offenders for the hours that the trick-or-treaters are out on Halloween….which is just bizarre. (funny uncles and/or mom’s drunk boyfriend certainly pose an exponentially greater threat than some pedophile on Halloween evening)
But on the bright side, some local columnist and her photog sidekick will get a great story, when they visit the local gym (or wherever they are massing these fellows) on Halloween. Maybe they will be nibbing for doughnuts….
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Dorothy said on October 30, 2006 at 12:15 pm
$30 or $40?! Wow. I thought I spent alot with $20. I have 11 bags of Junior Mints, Twix, Reese’s peanut butter cups and 3 Musketeers. Leftovers will be in the office on Wednesday because I’ve lost 10 pounds in the last 6 or 7 weeks and hope to continue to lose more.
Since Mike is in a cast he can’t get up and down to answer the door, so we’re going to sit in the garage and wait for the youngins to show up. Dinner will be wolfed down as I get home at 5:45. On the menu? Little Caesar’s Hot ‘n Ready pizza for $5!
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brian stouder said on October 30, 2006 at 12:24 pm
Little Ceaser’s sounds great! The local franchise went out of business, and I could go for that.
Apropos of nothing, remember the Halloween that the plane went down in northwest Indiana? The weather here (in northeast Indiana) was just the same – sleet was falling (and skittering across the driveway) and we were rushing through supper, and the kids began arriving, and the ‘Breaking News’ was coming across on TV.
Leaving that aside – several neighbors open their garages and have smokey caldrons and spooky music and all the rest. Usually the young folks and I go off around the neighborhood while Pam holds the fort and dishes out the candy. We’ll have $30-$40 worth, too….and Pammy has lost 21 pounds at Weight Watchers, so 11/1 will see all sorts of candy (our leftovers, and everyone else’s) in the office
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Marcia said on October 30, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Brian, nuh-uh, where did you read that? I’m from Lima.
And, you know, yeah. There are a lot of dangerous not-yet-been-convicted folks in any town.
Speaking of Lima, and tying in the Ford plant plus the autoworkers insurance thing, my mom was complaining that my aunt and uncle go to the doctor for every little thing.
(Stop reading if I posted this comment before. I meant to, but I don’t think I did.)
My dad and my uncle both retired from Ford, and had similar incomes. But my dad was salaried, and so his co-pay is I think $35, while my uncle, who was hourly, pays $7.
Anyway. I should probably go outside into the pretty weather, too. The computer is sucking my will to live, though.
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brian stouder said on October 30, 2006 at 1:03 pm
Marcia – UH HUH!!
I went to “the Google” and typed in Ohio sex offender Halloween, and got this
http://www.wtov9.com/news/10146149/detail.html
With the number of registered sex offenders on the rise, authorities in Allen county, Ohio decided to take action to keep the convicted criminals away from children.Police said they plan to round up every person convicted of a sex crime and keep them under supervision, but according to Jefferson county prosecutor Tom Straus, doing so would violate sex offenders’ constitutional rights.
Anyway, shut off the life-sucking vampire computer and fire up the wind-blowing leaf moving machine, eh?
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Julie said on October 30, 2006 at 1:08 pm
Also about Lima: There’s a long story in today’s Washington Post about Lima Company, the National Guard troop that took so many casualties. The reporter, Peter Slevin, leaves nothing out–the going, the being there, the coming home.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/29/AR2006102900785.html
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Rich B said on October 30, 2006 at 1:31 pm
Since I bought my house 12 years ago, I like to think I’m partly responsible for a trick or treat resurgence in my mixed neighborhood.
I’ve upped my customer base from 11 over 30 last year, (based on the candy bag count) and more front doors down my street have their lights on, too. I must say the “unkown kids” were an important part of my success.
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Marcia said on October 30, 2006 at 1:36 pm
Yep, here it is:
http://www.limanews.com/story.php?IDnum=31302&q=halloween
(That’s the sex offender story.)
Julie, the Lima Company is not actually based out of Lima but out of Columbus. And it’s pronounced Leema, like Peru, whereas Lima Ohio is in fact pronounced like the bean.
Wow, am I the fount of useless trivia today or what?
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Dorothy said on October 30, 2006 at 2:05 pm
Marcia, I just picked up a 30 day supply of new medication I started a month ago. (The doc gave me freebies for the first 4 weeks to try it out) and my payment was $32. The listed retail price on the bag was $125 and change. We’ll save even more when I mail in a 6 month script to Medco and get the meds filled that way. Can’t wait to see what 6 months’ worth goes for.
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Mindy said on October 30, 2006 at 2:24 pm
I’m applauding you, Nance, because I’m doing the same thing. It’s just too wonderful outside to work inside since we’ve got all of the dark months ahead.
And I thought that same thing about that picture when I saw it in yesterday’s paper. How weird to cheer at such a time, even if it’s meant to celebrate something.
I haven’t seen a trick-or-treater in years and don’t miss it very much. Last year a friend wanted to send her kid trick-or-treating on November 4 dressed as a FEMA director. Would have like to see that one, though.
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Bill said on October 30, 2006 at 6:59 pm
As usual, Ms. Nall is ahead of the curve:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/30/business/media/30carr.html?ref=media
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Dorothy said on October 31, 2006 at 9:29 am
Taken from that NYT article:
Now he’s sitting on the fender of a Chevy truck, strumming a guitar and singing, “Well, I can stand beside ideals I think are right, and I can stand beside the idea to stand and fight.�? He can also stand beside a nice shiny truck, if the fee is right.
I love that.
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brian stouder said on October 31, 2006 at 9:32 am
pssssst…..here’s a ‘spooky’ story, if you’re a faux Grabillian
Nance’s old paper, the good ol’ News and Sentinel, reports that they commissioned a real opinion poll on the Hayhurst-Souder race…..and the angry elf, who has rarely ever polled much less than 60% came in at 52 (ie – within the margin of error)
No wonder Souder keeps growling!
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Judith Steckly said on October 31, 2006 at 12:04 pm
The same article stated that Souder has decided to ignore Ft. Wayne and concentrate on the rural areas of his district–like they agree with torturing prisoners, abandoning giving detainees (American citizens or whoever is labeled an enemy) the reasons for their imprisonment, and collecting data on all phone calls. Dr. Hayhurst’s ad asking why Souder fought so hard to put Reagan on the dime, when many of his constituents worried about dimes in their pockets, seems very effective. Dr. Hayhurst’s ads are about issues, while Souders mainly blast Dr. Hayhurst’s character (What!!) and those terrible Democrats!
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Danny said on October 31, 2006 at 12:12 pm
I read an article yesterday, during my convalescense, that stated that the reason the democrats are having such a hard time winning is gerrymandering. And I thought, “you have to be kidding me.”
For one thing, until 1994 the dems held the house and senate for about 40 uninterrupted years. And thanks largely to Clinton’s “coat-tails,” they lost both houses. But the main thing I have observed over the years, is that gerrymandering is really the result and desire of BOTH parties. My firm suspicion is that they get together and AGREE to this as one.
This probably serves more purposes than we can imagine, none of them good for the electorate, but the main one that come to mind is the gerrymandring produces many, many “safe” districts so the parties can hang on to most of the campaign money they raise.
Thoughts, anyone?
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