September, October, November, December

The best time of the year, according to me.

 

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Halloween was really lots of fun yesterday. Rain notwithstanding, I had more trick-or-treaters than I've ever had before. They got almost all of the Snickers, Three Musketeers, and gold (chocolate) coins. I would have given them the bat, the skeleton, and the lighted pumpkin, but everything was dripping wet. I'm thinking about throwing all of that stuff in the trash instead of drying it out and hiding it.

Last night I watched one of the most disappointing horror movies in cinematic history, "The Picture of Dorian Gray." If Hurd Hatfield and Spencer Tracy ever competed for the title of sleepwalker, I think Hatfield would win. Tracy could at least grin occasionally. The only good thing about this movie, and the reason I keep watching it every once in a while, is Angela Lansbury singing about the little yellow bird. She was, still is, the most amazing actress. Married a gay man and had a passel of kids. Acted in some of the best and worst movies ever made, and helped save the latter from oblivion.

But I watched "Firestarter" during the past week, so I've had a bait of Halloween movies. No hatchet murders or poor old zombies for me this year.

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Thursday night I attended the LAC reception for Birmingham Arts Journal staff, and it was good to see all the folks. But it really wore me out, what with carrying all that heavy chips and dips and stuff and going up and down stairs. No, I don't know what was wrong, but I was pretty much wiped out, and decided not to go to Calera for the ASPS meeting on Saturday. If I had done that, I wouldn't have enjoyed seeing all those cute kids in their wet costumes.

Anyway--People are so good to me. It was all over Facebook this morning, that they missed me in Calera, and that three of the four poems I entered won prizes.  Those were: "W.H. and W.H.," third prize. "Amadeus," honorable mention. And "The Ghost Who Walks" won first place in that contest.