<Had enough already of the sappy Christmas stories, and songs that dominate(d) the radio? You’ll get some here too, but now we will give Hallows to some other holidays — if a last stab at election residue counts as one>.
Make America Great Again? If we can pardon all those late presidential pardons, as the show just keeps on rolling. And those huge flags are still flying, now more than ever. OK, on with a Wisconsin version of Six Flags Great America. On a short, narrow walkway were, and still are, planted a trio of small flags on each side. They are still there. Just down the block, a place had Trump flags and signs all over, only a few feet from the sidewalk, and advised not to touch in ANY way, as you were under camera security scrutiny. It all was unplugged and put away right after it was clear that Biden had trumped Trump. I stood there during a walk right about that time, and couldn’t help it, should I flip that lens The Bird? After all, both of us have protected speech, and cackle, ask the courts.
Northward, just at the far edge of the Kozy Korner parking lot, were a five pro-GOP signs in a row, meaning they held a string of four red and white flags the size of a robin — one stayed barren.
Between all these things in the middle of North Hudson were flags and signs for the Republican racks, one of them kitty-korner fom the village hall, where all the village voting takes place. That is a no-no, you have to have these things a certain distance from the polls. But wait, they comply because the banners were flown of the far side of that family’s yard. On the opposite side they had about 20 more feet to work with.
Cross down to the main drag and one of the last houses before the lake had both a rainbow-colored flag and a skeleton that was blood red. That really merges, in a more colorful way than usual, the two observances.
<Not Seven Eleven, but Seventh Heaven?>
Eleven is not just the number of fingers referenced in a companion post, it is the street name of a bridge over Interstate 94, right by our version of Seven Eleven, in my estimation, Taco Johns, that draws lots of protesters/picketers. The last time I saw came a veteran all decked out in this regalia to joint the rally, carrying a flag also as large as life. I thought him to be a bit over the top, however, with his big brown boots and war medals on his brown uniform and half-hat, half-beret.
Opposite him was a counter-protester who I know to be progressive, but as was apparent in her sign and choice of candidate was also very pro-life. Between her and The Decked Out Man was a center lane as such, on both the bridge and constituting the driver passing lane coming eastbound into Wisconsin. This had to be a Trump crowd, as do you know who needs that particular lane to rev in? Disenfranchised white males who drive 95 down Hwy. 95 just to drive 95.
The fact that I in this case biked over the Eleventh Street Bridge drew the ire of two larger ladies with just as large flags, for some reason. I felt like saying, would you be more happy if I had the means to drive a luxury vehicle ALL the time, and at least under the Obama administration I could always afford a sedan. Then one of their comrades (boy I bet they will love that term) began climbing the fence and its concrete support as high as his toes would allow, to hang the flag almost as high as a basketball hoop. Give an assist to Randy Breuer??
With that regional basketball reference, the following is one guy who now will not take a pass — Biden was just biding time, until changing it up and sticking a map of a new state, a sillouette of Wisconsin, between the vowels of Biden’s name on a sign, and throwing a series of them out into the middle of things. Chads made famous by Florida might be more appropo, but the state has a square corner.
<Walk the walk, and walk this way>
The signs were out in force on a long stroll through town, as people were picking election elixir or Halloween haunts. And in this case dealing with the former case, were they at once one and the same?
The sign suggested, don’t just protect the environment, protect our children as well, the sponsoring church pleaded. And thusly protect the earth, as shown by a blue-tinged globe. (Having a Blue Hue, like the name of my friend’s bluesy band). But that globe was the size of a soccer ball shown, which is the most fitting choice of sport I could make due to its universality. Its in Living Color because of the oceans, but could All The Seas Be Brown And The Sky Gray? Such a sentiment was shown signwise in English, but also in five other languages listed. One was concise, short and sweet, with its characters of the alphabet, not of politics, and journalists would love that one.
Then there is that other sign like Blue Hue, saying that Blue Lives Matter, as that would be Police Lives Matter. Yes, true, but … If you’ve been watching the news, and not fake news, you would know that’s not a wise tack to be throwing out there these days, far better those pointy things availed by Halloween.
A number of the cartoonish bodies were laying face down, as if they had hit the floor, like a song says. Others were planted firmly in the ground, with image of only arms and head exposed.The signs laid flat said either free and 50 cents for, buying what, the pavement underneath? Flat fee?
A guy I know had on the back of his truck, looking much like the images in Scary Movie — the newest version based on Wisconsin Death Trip, and forward — of a medium-size yellow ghost, he did not get the tint of color right. But see all the grungy stuff in the back seat and you see what you are getting into.
Wisconsin a few decades back drew attention for having the highest number of illegal signs along highways, almost 10 percent of all those nationwide. This was part of a Highway Beautification Act, with Twiggy as spokesperson? Slim chance.
And then there is/was the sign that said in two different levels, Joe, Bye, (although there also were other banners, methinks, for other Democrats?) Well it did/did not work out that way for some. It also said closer to the door, Don 2020, and I assume that’s not Quixote. Not sure what this guy’s politics are … Although a few blocks away there also was the two-tiered alphabet soup: HO, PE.
Trump also was called out — would this be a sign? — for a reference to Yosemine Sam, where he got the character all wrong in a way that got under some people’s skin. Definitely not Uncle Sam.
<Grin and bare it>
The downtowners all summer were dressed up in various states of undress, playing it forward on Halloween, which obviously can vary by any of the 50 states. Puerto Rico swings it, would that elevate their status to an election swing state … But wait, they would have to officially be in the Union to be viewed as such, For the 50.
It has been a combination of Men Behaving Badly, and Breaking Bad, even Biden. Saw a political T-shirt about getting high — wait that should have been Bush. Unless it is about Trump’s ego.
And this just in: All those election observers could be thought of as poll sitters, like the stripper and her pole to swing on and then swing on over to\a customer and … uhm … sit? Sorry Donald, but I think you’d love it.
The big flag thing carried out even out in the countryside, as can be seen in homes scattered here and there. But there is a new twist, many of them are positioned to be facing toward the house instead, and attached to the pole holding the mailbox, which obviously is pointing the other direction, forming a triangle of sorts. Going this way and that? Kind of like those other polls, Biden versus Trump.
Get a head up on The Donald for Halloween, as a party at a local roadhouse had one of its mainstays sporting not a head of lettuce, but a regularly disguised human head down low, pinned to the rest of the costume in a position where Trump himself was not spared the rod, as it was thrust right between the ears at the neckline — oh wait, that’s Jethro! His place had an election viewing party on that tide-turning Third, much like the tattoo shops around the area and their almost-nothing special cost for such body art on Friday The Thirteenth. Rounding out the trilogy is a draft viewing party at Kozy Korner where, gasp, the Viking faithful are allowed this once a year opp to get out their app in some way and forecast who would be picked by the purple in various rounds.
<More on Halloween haunts, if you can take it!>
It was called, in conversation, the ultimate Halloween costume. Or not. Captain Covid? Co-opted?
Much like my friend, who has coined the term Captain Underpants. As sometimes those briefs are a bit too brief, the long and the short of it regarding shorts, even though I think they are more like like those tight shorts worn while out and about, on the trail by cyclists, that’s in bike not biker. And after all I can get away with that to a degree, humor in uniform?
Oh, these possible costumes might also reference the Biden options, in a briefing, but this is a case there he could trump the Trump himself, although his thusly new faces would be much more vanilla/colorsome.
On Halloween, the possibility of saving the planet doesn’t resonate as much as a big, scary guy at the helm. But, give him a corn-cob pipe like McArthur and he might be closer to fitting the bill. Except in Pennsylvania.
The last house on the corner had a big Frankie that actually waived his arms slowly together like a monkey playing an accordine. This was one of not that many families this year that stayed out in the yard long enough to do a bang-up Halloween decorating job. But right away in November there was another creature commandeering the premises. Around the bend in a garden sat a gnome, also bigger than usual, and his size was rivaled by a pair of flags with different themes that had a likewise-size sculpture between them. Back the other way was a garage door flashing what looked like swirling bunny heads, of just enough colors to fit almost any holiday, and two Halloween figurines that on a night or two had a man taking a smoke break, again between them, although at first he looked like a short, squat snowblower.
Good things come in threes? Well, what about evil things? And could be a higher number, depending on how you group together the things in question. On our roof and into the house, in early October mind you, a big plastic pumpkin fell back down from the roof, but first one its own got up to and past the highest V-shaped point, then down on the other end to flop on our deck. It later rolled around on the deck for several seconds because of the finally showing pre-Halloween wind, then just like that stopped. It now, and has been, sitting lighted in our living room, glowing in streaks of several nights running. Many more such treatments were awaiting, or so we thought, for trick or treaters, all Halloween night.
The first citywide stab at a sorta decked out pumpkin could be a seen in a couple of yards back as soon as Labor Day. But to do more over the top, and kinda bury (good Halloween word) the grass from view, it was early October and So Much Depends On The Weather, as in even the proverbial snow on a pumpkin. Our literally hundreds of them, for sale through the local youth group on a slight knoll leading to the St. Patrick’s Church building, with a big “welcome” sign on the foreground and a sunrise in the background, for at least a few minutes most days, (read now), depending on The Time Of The Season, and of course the snow-falling status.
And of the movie when I was first getting into the ’80s metal, you know with the little kid getting sucked into the TV, about the time MTV came forward, my friend says she has a similar fear when watching that carries her back (in terror) to almost the time of a Black and White screen.
This on a sign in the doorway of an itty, bitty house. Witch parking only, all others will be toad. Or eaten. Guess they didn’t see too many trick or treaters, that would take the consumption the other way.