Nightmare on Pennsylvania Avenue

Yesterday was Halloween. Shannan asked (begged) me to watch scary movies Thursday and Friday nights. I've never seen Nightmare on Elm Street or Halloween. I resisted. I've never really been into scary movies. My friends tortured me in high school by making me see The Exorcist several times. They would trick me by telling me we were going to see something light like On Golden Pond. To this day, I cannot listen to the music from The Exorcist without cringing.

I have to admit Nightmare on Elm Street was pretty good. I appreciated the campiness, the horrible '80s hairdos and clothing, a pretty Johnny Depp, and the creativeness of a monster killing you in your dreams. Of course, we TiVo'd it from AMC so they cut out all the gore. My kind of version:)

Halloween, on the other hand, was lame. The buildup to the first kill was excruciating. Just kill someone already, will ya? I have to admit I was so distracted by a teenaged Jamie Lee Curtis that I couldn't have cared less about Michael Myer in the "scary" mask. I did get a kick out of the psychiatrist ordering the police chief around. Oh, and of course, the '70s fashion is always fun to watch. I was a little scared at one point and felt the necessity to make sure all the doors were locked. But it only lasted a couple of minutes.

So let's talk about what really scares me. The Presidential election. I'm so certain Barack Obama is not only going to win but it's not even going to be close. What's scary is, what if I'm wrong? Ooh, I shudder at the thought.

Last night, all the neighborhood kids ran door to door collecting their candy, and I couldn't help but get into the election spirit. I offered them an extra piece of candy if the said the magic word. "Please?" "Thank you?" No, not those magic words! I motioned over to my Obama lawn sign, and like music to my ears, they shouted "Obama!" Yes, yes, that's it. Parents and kids alike got into the act. Everybody was getting extra candy at my house. What I found so fascinating was all the kids knew who Obama was. And they were enthusiastic about him. One little girl told me Obama won the election at her school; he's now the President of her school! Wow! That's exciting. Can I come to your school? Who knew in this day and age there would be Red Schools and Blue Schools?

When I was a kid, I couldn't tell you who was running for President! I remember in fifth grade Mr. Caracci, my teacher, asked the class who agreed with Nixon being pardoned? Huh? I'm only 11. What does "pardoned" mean? Oh, that Mr. Caracci; he must have thought we were political science majors in college. This is Cambridge School! When is the nurse going to come visit our classroom with her big dog, Major, a boxer who happened to be our school mascot? That's all I care about. But these kids know who Obama is. I think that's great.

I was a little disappointed, though, that I didn't see one Sarah Palin costume. Oh, well, you can't have everything. I guess the best costume of the night has to go to the little boy dressed as a Whoopie Cushion. Unfortunately, his moment of glory was thwarted by my exclaiming, "Look at the little girl dressed as a Whoopie Cushion!" He corrected me, bowing his head in shame, "I'm a boy." OUCH. Sorry, kid, i can't see anything but your face. I gave him an extra piece of candy. Candy fixes everything. Maybe we should give Congress some candy...just a thought.

Happy Halloween and happy voting. I've never stood in line to vote in my life, but I'm prepared for anything this year. I'm even taking my camera to document myself casting a vote for the first African-American President of the United States of America. God Bless you and God Bless America!

J.Bo.