Happy Pumpkin Day! *

* This politically correct new title brought to you by the same people who spondored today's "fall festivals," "autumn costume contests," and "harvest celebrations."

Things I have done on Halloweens past (not necessarily in any order):

· Been dressed as a pumpkin, Raggedy Andy, and possibly other things I can’t remember.
· Interrupted a robbery-in-progress in my home.
· Saw Dave Matthews Band play a classic show. (Most of you don’t care but hopefully Erin can appreciate this. A great all-around show but the musical highlight was: the I’ll Back You Up > Halloween encore. And it took almost nine years before I finally got to hear Halloween again. The spoken highlight: “We’re disguised as the Dave Matthews Band this evening.” The personal highlight: Gwen nearly fainting because Dave pointed at people in the row in front of us.)
· Had my first date (even if I didn’t realize at the time that’s what it was.)
· Dumped someone.
· Dressed as an architect, golfer, football player, astronaut, fireman, Mickey Mouse, Indian, and surely others I’m forgetting. But since there’s a quilt (and a picture of the quilt in a book sold all over the country) with pictures of me in my old Halloween costumes, I could probably figure out a few others I’ve forgotten.
· Had an embarrassing back-seat experience I’ve never told anyone about ever.
· Gone trick-or-treating with my cousins, including the five-month old twins who were dressed as M&M’s.
· Seen “Saw” and “Bringing Out the Dead” in theatres.
· Introduced my parents to a girlfriend they had pretty much already decided to hate.
· Watched “The Nightmare Before Christmas” approximately 34,213 times.
· Gone to work wearing a Jack Skellington tie.

And, after tonight, you can add to this list: Dressed myself in tinfoil in order to get a free burrito. Seriously. Is this a great holiday or what?

(The jack-o-lantern pictures are coming, I promise. I just can’t upload photos from this computer.)