the true meaning of halloween

So here we are. 

I know there’s no Superman. I know there’s no Santa Claus. And that’s fine.

But I really wish Linus was real sometimes.

Linus, you know, from Peanuts. Not to be a philosophical smart-ass sidekick, and not to hang around sucking his thumb, but to once in a while come in and say the thing that needs to be said and remind us all what the true meaning of something is. He was good at that, because he did it succinctly and without injecting personal spin on it. When he quoted that Bible passage in A Charlie Brown Christmas, he didn’t paraphrase or add a “Jesus is the Reason For the Season!” or anything like that. He calmly trotted in, did the job, made us think, and then that magnificent Vince Guaraldi music kicked in and we saw commercials for Dolly Madison cakes (now owned by Hostess) and Peter Paul Almond Joy and Mounds bars (now owned by Hershey). 

zombie reply (not "brains")

So here we are.

I read a comment tonight from a guy named Jared regarding my October 7 entry, “Zombies:”

“Yes, it’s true, zombies are certainly reliable folks.  Having made a life long study of zombies, I can say this with confidence.  However, can one really have respect for someone who is so insecure about themselves that they resort to the most brutal form of peer pressure imaginable?  What else can it be called, when a group of people lash out, en masse, against any person who doesn’t conform to their standards of drooling, rotting and brain eating.  The zombie’s conformist mentality is cruel as it is absolute.  If you thought high school was bad, imagine being swarmed, gnawed on and disemboweled, just because you didn’t limp or moan like everyone else, and just like high school; judgment is nearly inescapable.  My point is this; while zombies may be honest and straight forward, how can one maintain respect for a group that is completely intolerant of anyone outside their own peer group?  While I may personally admire their honesty, I cannot respect them on the whole, at least not until they can learn to accept others for who they are, and not just mindlessly attack them.”

Jared, I must thank you for your comment and respond.

winners

So here we are.

There is nothing in the world like watching somebody win. I had dinner last night with a friend and his two friends, neither of whom I had met before. In the middle of dinner, one of the friends suddenly pushed his chair back and hollered in victory: he had just gotten a big theatre job. I had only met the guy an hour earlier, but I was so thrilled by his news and his win that I embraced him. 

We live in a country that loves to win. Even when we’re not winning, we pretend that we are. We chant “We’re Number One,” not always because some official ranking has placed us in the top slot, and also because no one wants to chant “We’re Number Six.” Even if it’s six out of a million, which is still undoubtedly impressive. In other words, silver medals are pretty, and hey, good for you, but... hmmm. 

zombies

So here we are.

I’ve come to the realization that the only people you can respect anymore are zombies. I’m not saying I particularly like zombies, but I respect them.  Not that I’ve had a lot of experience encountering zombies, (or any, really) but even my limited exposure to zombies via films and television and pop culture in general has convinced me that zombies are our last pure souls on Earth.

I understand that using the words “zombies” and “pure souls” in the same sentence is a tad unorthodox, to say the least, but hear me out. It’s simple, really.

Zombies will always tell you exactly what they want. No false pretenses, no stammering, no awkward pauses. They just come right out and groan it:

They want brains.