PRELUDE
I would like to welcome my newest readers, who have had nothing but warm things to say about this publication. This week’s issue is an attempt to deliver the high-quality excellence they—and my older readers—have come to expect. As you know, today is Halloween: the most interesting celebration of the year in my opinion, and one steeped in great and ancient traditions. How few of us actually know why we run about in costumes shouting “trick-or-treat” for armloads of candy! What follows is my attempt to shed light on these curious rituals, and to provide you with even more material for your next cocktail party (which, for you adults, may be tonight).

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

‘Tis the night – the night
Of the grave’s delight,
And the warlocks are at their play;
Ye think that without
The wild winds shout,
But no, it is they – it is they.
—Arthur Cleveland Coxe

“Men are like pumpkins. It seems like all the good ones are either taken or they've had everything scraped out of their heads with a spoon.”
—Anonymous

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble…
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
—Shakespeare, Macbeth, IV.i.12

“If you're in a war, instead of throwing a hand grenade at the enemy, throw one of those small pumpkins. Maybe it'll make everyone think how stupid war is, and while they are thinking, you can throw a real grenade at them.”
—Jack Handy

“An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.”
—Charles Dickens