Hallowe'en is not a tradition I grew up with, and I've only grown more familiar with it since I came to the UK, 13 years ago this month. It is a relatively inoccuous event, although I resent, like the gentleman in the pic above, the abuse of black cats just because they have black fur.
I'll just stick to the black cat as depicted in this graphic. My family had a black tomcat for 15 years in the 1970s and 1980s, and he was the friendliest creature you could care to find. Other cats, around at the time, would agree or disagree with that vehemently; other toms would get a sound thrashing out of him, whilst the females of the species got all they ever wanted out of him and more.
Donna provided me with this graphic 3 years ago, and I'm glad to see she's slowly getting back in the habit. She was also behind this graphic
which had us trick-or-treating through J-land, meaning this image is at least 3 years old. I had two Hallowe'ens in J-land (2006 and 2007); J-land was closed on Hallowe'en 2008. I was sitting in an airport lounge at Aberdeen when news came through that our blogs had gone. I've never understood why they had to be deleted, rather than being kept in an archived status. It caused a lot of upset, and I've not forgiven AOL for it.Hallowe'en has a serious side to it. Its full name is All Hallows' Eve, the day before All Hallows, when we remember those that have passed away. 1 November will be the day, 2½ years ago, that my mother passed away, and I'll bear that in mind on Monday. Others who have recently lost loved ones or friends will be kept in mind on that day. November is also the month that I post the links to journals whose bloggers have gone before, and I'm closing this admittedly sombre post with that.
In remembering those that went before us, we will gain strength from their memory and the fortitude they showed in adversity.
Lahoma's Laments - Lahoma, RIP 25 December 2007
The Diatom Project - Walt, RIP 27 April 2007
My Reason for Reasoning - Barbara, RIP 20 November 2007
Dribble by Chuck Ferris - Chuck, RIP 1 July 2008
There are no Sundays - Jim, RIP April 2007
I shaved my legs for this??? - Kim, RIP 26 December 2007
One Girl's Head Noise (UK) - Pam, RIP 16 April 2006
Pennie's Pieces of Ohio - Penny, RIP 1 October 2007
A wonderful post Guido....
ReplyDeleteI miss trick or treating through Jland....
Happy Halloween! :)
I really enjoyed reading this entry Guido. I haven't been around too much lately but reading this and thinking about the old J-land brought back fond memories. I remember when we had the chat area too, we had a few good nights in there as well. I'm not much into Halloween either and certainly loathe the fact that black cats are treated poorly during the holiday. Sorry to hear another anniversary of your mothers passing is coming up. You may not agree but it seems time is really flying by. Take care my friend,
ReplyDeleteLisa
It's nice to remember those who have gone.
ReplyDeleteThat was a wonderful entry Guido.
ReplyDeleteI remember most of those Jlanders who have gone on ahead of us. May they all rest in peace.
Donna makes fantastic Tags..doesn't she?
Jeanie