Let It Be, even if the long-promised (gag) post-mortem on Halloween is now presented with a nod to Scrooge and spirit(s)

Given the recent snowfall and the fact that we have dealt with a couple of holidays in a month, with another one coming later this month, and all of them are merging together, the occasion that a huge snowman has been built in back of Guv’s Place in North Hudson, is underscored by the proprietor Jess being petite and about half the size of that new creature back by the snow volleyball courts. (So its the perfect time to slot in the promised third installment of Halloween/Christmas coverage, the often tongue in cheek Ghost of Halloween Future). And if that reference is not timely enough, we offer the holiday merging play at the Phipps, Blythe Spirit.
–The layout of a big Halloween display on the way back from Starr’s Bar is much like the nativity of olden days, front to back and side to side, with a centerpiece. One wonders whether their although creepy intent was not to entertain but evangelize. Black Sabbath’s n.i.b., short for Nativity in Black, anyone? Or the cooly bespectacled Men in Black, m.i.b., the video of which is on sale now, but hey, you think HudsonWiNightlife is anywhere near that coool? Got to go to the Big Box Store! b.b.s.)
— The homeowners on the Hudson to North Hudson crawl (pub style yes, but also other varieties) always put forth some form of brightly bulbed decoration, to be there for the late-night people and their continued entertainment, after the music and right after Halloween, not prior to it. And the creative color scheme includes, in a way to allow two holidays to merge, hundreds of just-placed orange lights framing the roof edges of taverns, other businesses here and farther afield, and more residences, rural and city. There were a half-dozen roof edges at a single spot, in some cases, and one might surmise that they are there to help Rudolph with his guiding factor, be the lights orange or a single red, and timely in the way that this indeed is part of the rush to Christmas, just like shopping, although the reindeer component is still a few weeks away. Much like the fact that merchants were already pushing Xmas-gift type items before Halloween even arrived.
— During trick-or-treating time, the historic Third Street district was seriously, closed off to through-traffic by cops and if you wanted to get some of those king size candy bars the people there offer (screw the fun size) you would half to do most of it on foot while escorted by police. You would also have to have the recommendation of two former employers, a green card in some cases, a letter from your attorney saying you would hold everyone harmless to possible liability from accidentally tained candy, and lastly, take a drug test showing you were not under the influence of extreme chocolate and its sugar.
— I saw some bright horizontally striped, quasi-pylons, sitting in the median of a construction zone, and the way they were individually stacked reminded me of a bunch of Dr. Suess hats, planted in the ground, although the look was like the good doctor had been, gulp, beheaded. Cindy Lou Who was aghast, and organized an on-site ritual remembering her former nemesis to go through the end of the year.
— It has been two decades since there was a Wiccan national conference held in a great big farm field near Hudson. Double that for meeting again here and you have 40 years, with the requisite Biblical number at sway, and I’m not quite sure how that interfaces with the theology in a Christian holy book.
In fact, I was able to write a story I was also able to resell, by interviewing attendees after the fact, at Denny’s of all places. I was not allowed on site for the conference, since I veer toward Catholicism and there has been such a tradition of persecution by that group, that actual Wiccans that were there wouldn’t feel comfortable going through all their rituals with a Christian present. So what form a persecution took place, at uhm at that place? Greasy Denny’s bacon and eggs.
— It was the colors meeting, on Black Friday and with the beverage Lululemon (to be bought for drinks to get unstressed from shopping), rather than lemon drops, falling from sky.
— There are a lot of Stillwater ghosts, and they really come around for their 15 minutes of fame once a year. In fact, some of them get to strut their stuff in a pair of ghost tours — one of which keeps you in town and one of which exits the big downtown parking area stage north. Could they go to town, so to speak, and save lots of money by combining their marketing efforts? Let’s get Scrooge on the case.
— Screw Halloween. On Nov. 1, if you’re Lutheran, you have Reformation Day, which was celebrated with a big musical to-do locally. And there’s a fringe group, The Spiritual Awaking Church, that wants after hundreds of years to have another reform, of all kinds of spirits, and carry the holiday on until the next pagan ritual pops up that can be co-opted.
— When the campaign got going, there were a pair of mug shots below the fold of the Star-Tribune. One was of Donald Trump and the other of another obscure head of state. And not only did these look-alikes have the same facial features, they had the exact same bad hair! My guess is that the Halloween karma dictates that they share the same cell in hell, condemned to crack out executive orders for eternity.
— Tried to recharge an old phone, in a desperate attempt to take some Halloween photos, only to find out that it had expired. How old is that kind of phone, in phone years, I asked. “One of the first made.” Kinda like vampire years. Except in the long run, those creatures keep going, and going, and going … Better battery for that old phone?
— The news a while back was that hoidy toidy Edina led Minnesota and the surrounding area in OWI arrests. Must have a lot of stress when deciding how big a boat to buy, and now that we’re past Halloween and you can’t go as The Skipper and Gilligan, its time to get out your charge card. Step up to the St. Croix River instead? And as far as western Wisconsin law enforcement, they feel that the Edina cops are reigning in on their turf. So they plan for, on New Years, a cop on every corner. And if you got stung: “Dying in a den in St. Croix. Why’m I here? Can’t say.”
— Metro news was made when a longtime rock musician established a charity to help downtrodden people, especially those in the music industry, and there are a lot of them, judging from the tenuous financial status of some local players I know. Dredging through my memory after a night out with some of these people, I thought it was Tim Mahoney, who I’m guessing was in the mode of providing bologna sandwiches, (I apologize profusely for that bad play on words, which just might be a bunch of baloney, with the good intent of the sponsor). But seriously folks, everyone despite your status, accept the well wishes of HudsonWiNightlife for a wonderful Thanksgiving! Posthaste.