Halloween: the only day I wish I had kids

Husband was bored one day at work a couple weeks ago, and while randomly searching around the internet discovered that Lewis Black was touring and coming to our neck of the woods soon. I forgot how small the Orpheum is and authorized him spending about double the normal ticket price to buy a couple of third row seats some season ticket holders were selling for this past Friday night.

The ride up was fun, if trying, with Memphis traffic in the rain, but it gave us time to talk and wander through thoughts that we hadn't gotten to express in the business of life lately. Using the wonder that is my iPhone, we were able to locate a parking garage inbetween the restaurant and theater. We ate at my husband's favorite barbeque rib place, Rendezvous. Unless you just know where this place is or are smart enough to ask directions you'd never find it hidden away in the one-way alley beside the Days Inn. Regardless of its hidey-hole location, it stays very busy, nearly full even at 5:45 when we walked in to eat. I like it because they have meatless red beans and rice, which they label as meatless, and serve with all their meatless sides including cole slaw, pickles, peppers, cheese cubes, and rolls. And it's tasty. Husband revelled in his dry-rubbed rib goodness, practically bathing in it, and we sucked down a pitcher of beer before finally heading out into the cold rain again to walk to the theater.

While waiting for the doors to open, we had a very engrossing conversation about the difference between the "riff-raff" of the left and the "hicks" on the right side of politics, how the left gets all the socially enept nerds with their gristly mustaches and pac man t-shirts and socks with black tennis shoes (there were several of these surrounding us at this point) while the right gets the camo wearing hee-haw yelling crowd. I know both crowds well having grown up as a liberal in a very conservative state. Yes, we were stereotyping, but apparently the staff was trying to keep us trapped in the lobby so we'd buy beer and Lewis Black paraphenalia, and we were bored. Finally they opened the doors and let us sit, and we were very happy with our seats. The opening comedian, John Bowman I believe, was hilarious, and Lewis Black was exactly what we expected him to be. I laughed so hard I cried several times in the hour and a half he was on stage.

I was so sleepy on the ride back, we forgot to pick up my husband's car from his work, and in the morning the last thing I wanted to do was drive him to work, so I was without a car all day Saturday, not that I would have gone anywhere. I spent the day braiding myself a headband for my hippie costume and then braiding my wet hair so it would be wavy later, only to get a migraine at about 1 pm.

By the time my husband got home, my head was still pounding, and two of our friends had pulled out of our plans. We still had another couple we could have gone out with, but they don't go out until late (they're young'ns) and I just wasn't feeling it anymore.

After about the third group of trick-or-treaters (I think it was two little girls as ninjas) came and left, I was feeling better, so we went and got some dinner on the Square so we could see what some folks were wearing. I saw lots of Mario's and several Ninja Turtles-- it was a very old-school Halloween. We tried to find our friends with the little boy, who I hear was the cutest pirate ever, but they ended up at the in-laws, so we just grabbed a couple movies and went home.

Watching all the little kids up and down the streets, running and jumping in their pink fairy wings and long Batman capes, my usually non-existant maternal instinct kicked in. I would love to have some children to dress up in crazy little costumes and parade around the neighborhoods, watching the joy light up their little painted faces. (But then I'd want to give them back to whoever is responsible enough to take care of them on a regular basis. So that feeling didn't last very long. I just need a couple more dogs.)

We snuggled on the couch, with the dog, and watched our movies until late at night. Sunday we watched a couple more but also managed to get in some yardwork, and after holding up that heaviest-weedeater-ever for an hour, my arms are sore today. But that's the last trim before the winter. We want to create ourselves some raised garden beds for use for vegetables in the spring, but we're having trouble finding a border-- it's either 108 foot-by-half foot heavy bricks, moved down the hill one at a time, or some big pieces of untreated cedar. The cedar would be easier to handle but is a lot harder to find. We probably have better things we could be spending money on, like new window blinds or new stairs for the deck, but there's something wholesome and renewing about digging in the dirt and creating food from what once was nothing. My grandfather did it, now I want to carry on.