It looks like the Halloween season is starting early this year

[Murfreesboro]

Lol touche

I guess my parents' generation was the first in which large numbers of people relocated for jobs. I mean, yes, there was the pioneer push in the 19th century, but once those people got where they were headed, they tended to stay.

My mother's family all stayed in Arkansas because they owned a business in common. My mother was the odd one who moved, first to California, and then later to Mississippi ( she'd come home bc of WW2). My father was the eldest of five and the only one who stayed in Mississippi. He pretty much had to bc he was a lawyer and was a member of the Bar there.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

When we were in Florida we went to Michaels on Jun. 18th and they already had their Spooky Town display up, and that is the earliest I have ever seen them put that out, as in recent years they usually wait until July to do it.

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, my! June is very early!

Now, my husband has been Summerweening pretty intensively this July, which has surprised me. He's pulled out several dvds from our collection--Haunted History of Halloween, Salem Witch Trials, The Mummy, Pirates of the Caribbean, and even my ultimate Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus. I love them all but usually reserve them for fall viewing.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

Well, I'm glad to hear that your husband is enjoying his summer, but I know what you mean, there are certain movies and things that I prefer to enjoy during their specific season because that's what makes them special. Of course, having 2 young kids means that they watch anything they want to when they want to, and believe me, they don't ever get tired of it. I couldn't even tell you how many times they have watched Hocus Pocus and NBC, but they love it, so when they have it on outside of the season I just go do something else so I don't get sick of it.

When I was younger I did the same thing, when we would rent a video from the store we would try to watch it as many times as possible during the weekend before we had to return it. I guess you just have a different way of looking at it when you're younger.

[Murfreesboro]

I of course grew up before the home video revolution. I love having my personal library of films I can watch whenever I Iike, but there are some things that were more special in the old days. When you could just watch The Wizard of Oz one day a year, and everyone else you knew was watching it, too, that was a cultural bonding thing. We have fewer of those experiences now, it seems to me.

[Murfreesboro]

Maybe it's because school starts here in early August (teachers go back the first, and students have a two-hour day the 6th), but our stores seem to be shifting over to autumn. I noticed in Kroger tonight, in addition to the school supplies that debuted on July 5th, they are now selling dried bouquets that include miniature pumpkins.

Obviously I don't mind signs of autumn, but our temps rigjt now are scalding hot, mid to high 90s with a heat index way over 100. It seems kind of silly to start celebrating autumn when we are still clearly in high summer. Around here, the weather doesn't typically break until mid-October. We start Oct in t-shirts and end in sweatshirts. I don't begrudge autumn decor starting with Labor Day weekend, which will be early this year. But let's not pretend it's fall when it isn't.

[TheHeadlessHorseman]

I think that this trend of experiencing any season at any time of the year started with the Christmas in July thing, and from that they saw that good old fashioned greed could be profitable regardless of the season, so they milk it for what they can, and now they push every seasonal holiday when it's out of season to appeal to the masses of potential customers.

It was different when we were younger, we looked forward to each season and the specific holidays and decor associated with them because that's what made them special. On the other side of that, with the way the world is today, being constantly bombarded with doom and gloom in the news every day, I can understand why people want to celebrate any holiday they want when they want to because it gives them a sense of comfort in this messed up world we are in.

[Murfreesboro]

Well, you make some good points. Yes, it's about commercialism, but at root its probably a craving for comfort, and maybe a turning away from the depressing and sometimes alarming news cycle. I guess, too, it's possible because most of us are no longer agricultural, and our seasonal holidays are ultimately tied to the rhythms of nature. For better and worse, we no longer move in sync with it.

[Andybev01]

I wokd up to temps in the mid 50s and overcast skies.

I'll admit that I was disappointed when it cleared up by noon.

[Murfreesboro]

Don't gloat!

We got rain this afternoon, and it didn't cool us down a bit. Everything just got steamy afterward.

We've had a more humid summer than usual. It's reminding me more of Mississippi than Tennessee.