From The Chief Editor's Desk...

As I write this, it's Halloween Eve. Until the kids came along, I was never a fan of Halloween as an adult. As a kid, it was one of the best days of the year that I looked forward to.

But ever since the kids came along, I get caught up in their excitement, to the point that I also dress up in a costume as we take the kids around the neighborhood to snag their Halloween "booty."

I now have a couple of "old" costumes that I cycle through. I have a Minions costume. Specifically, it's Stuart. I also have a Jack Skellington costume. This year, I bought another costume to add to the mix. This year, I'm a ghoul in tattered gauze, with a light up mask. (Sorry, but I don't have any pictures of me in it yet.)

Ryan is going this year as "Ghost Face" from the Scream movies. Lexi finally has a real reason to dress up like Wednesday Addams, instead of trying to periodically mimic her looks throughout the year (which she does).

Before the kids came along though, I always shunned Halloween. In my mind, it's a day for kids to be kids. And maybe part of it is that I was always consumed with more "adult" matters, and really couldn't afford the mental detour that celebrating Halloween required.

I wasn't a Halloween "Scrooge." I always handed out candy to the Trick or Treaters that came to my door. But when it came to dressing up and actually celebrating Halloween, that just wasn't in the cards for me.

Man, how things change when kids enter the picture. I now look forward to it, but probably not as much as the kids do. But for me, it's a nearly complete reversal for how I used to feel about Halloween.

********************

My kids are both involved in Cub Scouts. We (my wife and I) are the monthly "hiking chairs" for our Cub Scout Pack. That means that we arrange the monthly hikes through the outdoors in our area. In an effort to spur increased participation in our monthly hikes, we decided to turn each hike into an outdoors "scavenger hunt." The Scouts are given a list of things to find along the trail. These could be things like various types/kinds of trees, signs of wildlife, and other notable features along our monthly hike. That means that "we" have to go do the hike ourselves, in advance of the "official" hike. Then, we make up a "scavenger hunt" list that we pass out to the Cub Scouts of things to find along the trail. Those who complete the hike and the list are granted access to the "treasure chest," which is filled with all sorts of items that might be of interest to a Cub Scout. They are items that they can use on campouts, or in other areas of their Cub Scout journey (no toys here).

As we were "scouting" the October hiking trail, I saw (and took the photo of) the leaf nestled in the rotting tree stump along the trail. That is the image that I've used for the cover of this issue, as it seemed to be a fitting tribute to the onset of fall.

********************

Until next month, I bid you peace, happiness, serenity, prosperity … and continued good health!