So the plan was to go back down to Chapel Hill and partake in their annual Halloween party and parade celebration down Franklin Street. I wrote about it last year and I really enjoyed it, but this year I even have a good costume.
That is, until I went to Hillsborough last night and had some dinner and did some last minute candy and costume shopping before coming back home. True to my luck, I was speeding along with the smell of tasty Bojangles' chicken warming me when the nice folks from the State Highway Patrol pulled me over. Turns out, it wasn't speeding (of which I was thankful, I thought I was close...but, hey, it is approaching the holidays, bonuses may come into play), but instead something I thought was more mundane: no back lights except the license plate lights and the side running lights. No brakes, no back tail lights at all...eeck. And that was not good news, as I've had this problem off and on for the last two years, which somehow always gets resolved with new bulbs, only to be told by a friend following me some months later that the lights are out again. I got a written warning last night, but it's gotta be fixed by Monday to the SHP's satisfaction. And I can't drive after dark until they're fixed to said level of approval.
Unfortunately, this morning, I found out that a 'quick fix' is not on the horizon this time around...despite making it my highest priority on the agenda. It turns out I have the much-dreaded 'electrical short', and, additionally, I need a new socket set for both lights (which apparently is in high demand and price from local junkyards given the age of my darlin' truck). The costs of the new socket sets, plus the labour to install them, drained my mood. Then it hit me: given that I'm limited on schedule with how long I can stay on Franklin Street, given that we have no late night bus transportation near the homestead, and given that I'm the only one of my immediate set even going downtown tonight...well, I guess I'm not, after all. And that has me bummed. All prepped and candied up, but no real way to do it properly and still pay for the new equipment expense. Damn it, too, Halloween is my favourite holiday.
I'm really hoping I have some trick or treaters tonight, I really am.
There's a silver lining to this, I just know it. Maybe "Carrie" or "The Exorcist" will be on the telly. Maybe I won't gain any weight if I only sample a mini-Twix® every 4 hours or something. Maybe I'll have tons of kids show up at my door, but that will be a first in more than 10 years now...I think everyone just takes their offspring to the respective malls now. (Ho hum...no fun, kiddies.)
In the meantime, I did find a this link from KNBC to put me more back in the mood. Some of the most famous (and reportedly untouched) 'haunted' photos ever developed. Some look a bit more genuine than others, and some are a bit on the freakish side...especially if they were not manipulated in some fashion. Scary even, but then again, it is Halloween.
All have fun, party safely, and enjoy in the revelry. And come get some candy.
No comments:
Post a Comment