Today is a rainy Sunday. My kind of day. The Woods were lovely, dark, and deep and wet this morning. I walk in the rain. I always have. I have not melted yet. The peace of a rainy day in the Woods is compelling. The leaves fall, winter is waiting at the door. An opportunity for Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey of Saturday Night Live notoriety.

‘This is a perfect Sunday for boating on the river,’ Mr. Toad said. ‘Sunday boating is simply the best,’ Mr. Toad continued. ‘I see the Old Man walking up the path, let us see if he would like to join us,’ Mr. Toad proclaimed. ‘The Old Man is a lover of the river and boating,’ Mr. Toad noted. ‘He has on his new leather Outback hat and looks the part of a Woodsman,’ Mr. Toad laughed and held his sides. ‘Who is that walking with him?’ Toady asked.

‘Greetings, the Old Man called out to his friends on the boat. I have my friend Frank N. Stein with me. May we come aboard,’ the Old Man laughed. ‘We are pleased to have been invited for this Sunday adventure,’ the Old Man announced. ‘I love the rain and cloud cover,’ the Old Man said. ‘I was born a week before Halloween,’ the Old Man noted. ‘The short days please my soul,’ OM said. ‘Frank was telling me about his Halloween plans,’ OM noted.

‘I am inviting you all to Ghost Stories in the Woods on Halloween night,’ Frank N. Stein said. ‘My Bride is making chili, and I am a popcorn ball expert,’ Frank said. ‘We will gather at the river’s edge and eat s’mores by the campfire, telling Ghost Stories,’ Frank said. ‘ We passed some ghost on the way to the river,’ Frank noted. ‘They told us that the Nuclear Clock had been moved up to 30 seconds to midnight,’ Frank continued. ‘The ghosts mentioned that they were from our near future,’ Frank N. Stein offered.

‘Hello, all, we are from your near future, where a nuclear warhead was launched and the world raced to fire their warheads at each other to be first in Armageddon,’ Casper said. The Woods were destroyed and the rivers set ablaze,’ Casper said with tears in his eyes. ‘The unthinkable happened, logical thinking shut down,’ Casper whispered. ‘There was no winner, only losers,’ Casper noted. ‘It was all war games and who had the most nukes until a madman pushed the button,’ Casper sat down, about to faint.

‘Hit the deck, you rubberneck,’ Neva J called out to wake Billy B. ‘You do not want to be late for school, the bacon is on a plate next to the coffee pot,’ Neva J informed. ‘President Kennedy said on television that the missile crisis is over, and I am glad, as we could not afford a bomb shelter,’ Neva J laughed. ‘How could leaders of nations rationalize such bizarre thinking,’ Neva J pondered.