A few tales about Halloweens past, present and future (to preface the post below also)

What were some of the favorite times you had on Halloween nights or times near then in the past, in your childhood or when rearing your kids? Some of my earliest memories were dressing up in any funny way with stuff from around the house.

A bunch of us skinny little kids would dress up with pillows stuffed in big shirts or dresses to become older heavier ladies. We'd get pocketbooks and high heeled shoes on and a dress many sizes too big from older sisters. How would we keep the pillows in place for our enlarged busts and bellies you wonder?

Easy, tight belts and maybe a rope securing the pillows in their proper places. We'd powder our hair with baby powder and maybe have it up in a bun with a hat on. Maybe even some make up. Getting down a hill to a few country homes would be very exciting as dusk came on quickly and pillow cases would serve wonderfully to gather candies, even full size Hershey chocolate bars (some with almonds please) into our sacks.

One elderly woman at the end of our road had the spookiest house and was near a canal where a deer once got caught in a terrible situation I think my brothers were able to help rescue.

Plus  there was a lot of machinery and a power plant not far from there which made the air seem electrified. So it was important to stick together and be quick about getting our just rewards for our dedicated efforts of transfoming ourselves into Halloween costume winners...The more the merrier. 

By the time I got to 7th and 8th grade, there was a sense of taking over our small town for the night. But as cool as that seemed, with some toilet paper streaming from telephone wires, soaping some car windows with spiders or helping a pumpkin fall off its stoop, there were older kids, teens and up who really were about being mean with their shaving cream or other serious torments to property if not other people. So it made sense to head for home sooner rather than later. 

A friend had a house downtown so that made the maneuvering around our tiny downtown much easier like having a 'safe goal' to run back to as we would as kids when playing hide and go seek.

That would entail having a hundred feet out from our country house on our quiet road to hide in along the edge of the mountain, behind tractors or other sheds and equipment, in a large garden near a pig pen and chicken coop with the road that had a very large tree and some smaller lilac bushes along the front yard edge.

Counting by 5s to 100 at the red maple which was home base gave most of us time to get out of sight (behind the house or on one of its sides) to fine tune our hiding spots alone if not with one other person.

When we'd see someone looking behind the large trash bin made of wood by the big pine by the driveway, we could work our way from a hiding spot on that side of the house and race to the tree with the person by the bin and barrel on its side we'd roll back and forth while standing on it and hanging onto  a rope having to notice us and do an about face and maneuver around that area to get to the front lawn and race from what often was 2nd base to the sidewalk (home base for kickball) then to the red maple.

Hearts racing to keep up with our stick legs and wiry arms and long hair flapping about would all be part of the drama if not factor into the final outcome of how whoever was racing reached the destination. Maybe we'd trip each other up or try to tag someone only to pull their hair, scratch someone's arm with our long fingernails or otherwise get marks of our hard playing and strategizing. 

Soon soccer season would claim the fall afternoons whether warmer or cooler or even colder and darker at our local schools, whether right in town or one we went to a bus.Sometimes we were warned to not interact with the other athletes off the field since they might steal, hit or otherwise vandalize property. Still once one such vicious player stomped on someone's foot during a game when the ball was nearby, effectively breaking that person's big toe (which has a rather big one but this was a girls game.) The wounded play went down like a deer hit by a bullet and the throbbing and swelling of the large toe was immediate. No that injured player would not be able to play the rest of the game or help out with the boys' ranks since when she took her sneaker off the foot was purple and ballooning up. Still without an clear understanding or assessment about the seriousness of such an injury, she had to walk the mile home since that was the usually not a problem ...and no one took time to consider that back in the day. Now coaches must stay to make sure every student is picked up, but often that's how things go. Good ideas come up later after injuries, accidents or other problems. 

A poem about Tricks or Treats related to abusive type people is one I may have posted or will. The United States of A Miracle (a phrase I've coined a few years ago) is waking up to the many areas that we have 'inherited and have had to accept until changes in the laws and systems are made.' The more people, especially younger people who have not come to accept that 'nothing can be talked about or done in a better way', could likely improve our country and world overnight with new proposals and game plans. 

One issue coming to people's attention more with the need for Medicare at age 65 ( and signing up well in advance, a few months before but learning about it at age 64 if not even in one's 50s to be clear about what game plans are on place for one's housing  and other assets as advised by an attorney knowledgeable about Title 19 or Medicaid as well as estate planning etc.)

There may be states and situations that allow for the transfer of property between spouses as well as between siblings who live together and have 'ownership' (likely fiduciary investment of even 5% or some other minimum) and/ or are important to the care of sibling who owns the property that can be shown in a documented fashion.

None of this is intended as legal or financial advice but rather as a prompt to do one's research and to consult with appropriate qualified professionals (even a few to get consistent clear information) before making final decisions, changes or signing things.

Having one or two trusted, qualified support people to go over forms with one and record meetings with professionals to make sure one understands one's options, the timelines and requirements (paperwork and ways things need to be filed and what paperwork needs to be on hand, with other professionals, such as health care or other liasons for health care proxies or representatives or for Power of Attorney (to make financial transactions on behalf of a person as they have clearly spelled out in advance in a legal document as an attorney would advise.)

Most states have more educational sites for seniors and issues related to these matters for free. Some details to check is what a prepaid funeral may cost and how that may be helpful in affording as a legitimate expense before qualifying for other medical programs.

For particular advice with specifics of one's situation it may be wise to check with an attorney. They may charge a fee which sometimes may then be applied to the future costs of drawing up legal paperwork or further consults.

Again these are tips I have heard some share in public forums and am passing along to help people brave these matters which can prove challenging to wrap one's mind around and to keep track of even with paperwork and information flyers and online sites.

Getting a notebook and folder to gather information and list resources and phone numbers that one keeps in a cental location (yet private enough to not have people one would not want seeing it get a hold of it, perhaps in a locked file drawer) would make sense.

That said, sharing the information with people who will be on your team as may be pertinent and in an updated way, around one's birthday or other times as health or financial concerns may present makes sense. A person can be a health care proxy for more than one person but there is a limit

Now I will transition from these important serious topics back to more about Halloween 2019....

The post below this one came to mind after hearing news on television that some strong storms are coming our way...Safety first for many would indicate moving the event of trick-or-treating up a day or so to get out of dodge (and that's what was being shared on the television for the northern East Coast of the US.) 

 Part of California meanwhile was battling wildfires so that puts things in perspective..Celebrate when it's safe and reasonable to do so but take care of  people, pets, property and important things first...and get around to marking the times of the season as one can. In the past we've had snowstorms not only rearrange events but the environment (especially if ice formed on branches or heavy snow took them down.)

 During one episode of roads being closed during winter weather I was caring for someone's kids. When the parents called in to see how we were managing I said, "We're fine but the willow tree in the field near the house fell over completely and the roots are sticking up." Their response, "Well as long as nobody got hurt that's no problem." 

Sure enough they had that willow tree processed in a week or two and all that was left of it was the story to tell....and safety tips to pass along (watch out for those willows, even days after storms or in windy times. I've had occasion to see one huge branch come down when 'all was calm, all was bright' during the days with kids playing nearby on a play set.

 The branch filled the yard, coming right up to the porch of the house, but thankfully not bothering a hair on the kids' heads...and so that close call was one for the 'happy endings' in the story books. I like to credit the good forces that may have been at play that day as well, as they are likely all the time, to keep us safe from harm on many levels...Intending good, thinking positively and doing practical safety checks and plans as well as actions (what we really do not just intend or think of doing spontaneously) can help the treats outnumber the tricks in life.... 

See more over the years on other posts on livfully.org and spin a tale or song of your own to recount the wisdom of hearth and home, real or on the 'telephone' (as in the story that grows over time or is even revealed moreso over time.) Some say with the quantum mind and physics 'everything is changeable or malleable, including the past, present and future, beyond what we had assumed 'was unchangeable'...and that there may be parallel universes and much more to our 'mere human existence' than meets the eye or which we can imagine...