The nice lady at the Health Department told me that I had a birthday coming up. I answered yes and thought about how I relish my birthday. Especially now that I am in the Golden Years. I am excited to reach another year. I have lived longer than I suspected I would. Another notch on the calendar is fun. Life is a tonic. Each day, I expect an adventure. Another mystery to solve. What a rollercoaster ride. Peace is my companion. Goodwill is my guide. Hope is my morning eggnog. When someone tells me that they find my blog interesting, I am renewed. When others like my photos, I consider their sweetness. When I see some rejoice in the suffering of their fellow humans, I am sad. We are just visiting. We own nothing. All of our possessions go back to the dust. We leave our footprints on people’s hearts. Did we see them? Did we hear them? When they reached a hand for ours, did we grasp it?

Quite is lovely. Mosey along, looking for the Secret. Return good for evil. Give hope where hate dwells. The leaves of October are in their glory and falling to the Earth. Time to think of bonfires and stories spun by storytellers. Our truths are contained in stories. The hope of heaven is a story we comfort ourselves with. Not all stories are fiction. We think about the coming of the Christ child. The Christmas Story of his being born in a manger of his mother and the shepherds and animals of the stable comforts our understanding of where we live. Most of us are not elite. We are neither rich nor powerful. Jesus came for all of us. He was no respector of persons.

We read of the golden streets of heaven and the thrones and majesty. We hear that God has a mansion with our name on the door. Many have mansions right now and have done little to help the poor. Perhaps the Bible Story was written in language we could understand.

‘Let’s make a Halloween Play that will address the stress of our world,’ Jane said. ‘Frankenstein, Wolfman, and Dracula can conduct a round table discussion about helping the needy,’ Jane offered. ‘They could hold the dialogue with the President and his key advisors,’ Jane grinned. ‘We could portray it as a Summit for Peace,’ Jane exulted.

‘We must invite people from all races and religions to ask questions,’ Chet suggested. ‘The poor and homeless must have a seat at the table,’ Chet noted. ‘This could be a Halloween Play for the ages,’ Chet danced on one foot and then the other. ‘President Kennedy and Premier Kruschev along with Dr. Martin Luther King and Malcom X,’ Chet said with aplomb. ‘Frank N. Stein will be the moderator,’ Chet laughed. ‘The movie monsters are not the scary creatures; they highlight the humans who created them,’ Chet noted.

‘Welcome to all attending,’ Frank N. Stein intoned. ‘This is a Peace Summit that has been a long time coming,’ Frank noted. ‘We all agree that we must pull back from the abyss or be consumed by it,’ Frank N. Stein said solemnly. ‘Our first speaker will be President Kennedy,’ Frank said.

‘Welcome, all we are at the door of either peace in our time or nuclear destruction of all of us,’ President Kennedy said. ‘We all love our children, we all breathe the same air, we all want peace,’ Kennedy noted. ‘The recent altercation between the Soviet Union and the United States regarding Cuba is a mile marker of what is ahead if we do not pull back from the cliff,’ Kennedy said. ‘As Benjamin Franklin said, we shall hang together or hang separately if we do not unite,’ President Kennedy warned.

‘This is a special Halloween production,’ Wolfman said. ‘We all have a little wolf in us,’ Wolfman noted with a toothy grin. ‘We must suppress our evil desires for the common good,’ Wolfman advised. ‘Who does not like to howl at a full moon? I know I do,’ Wolfman laughed. Who does not like to run through the forest with his shirt in shreds just for the feeling of freedom and fun in the night,’ Wolfman asked. ‘We must control our animal instincts with a little silver for assurance,’ Wolfman laughed.