West Philly Throws a Halloween Street Party

Suppose you dropped from outer space into Philly on Halloween?

More specifically, suppose you dropped into the West Philly Halloween parade?  You'd see a thousand or more people, lurching from house to house, lugging buckets o' candy.

You'd see little dragons,

littler dragons,

and big dragons.

You'd see all kinds of animals:  dog, meet dog.

Oh, Big Bird, is this the last time we'll see you?

Tigers: "I know there is candy in that house.  I can smell it."

Spider twins,

Peacocks,

Mice,

Turtles,

And a genuine honey badger, who don't care.

There were Pixies,

And wizards--Gandalf, to be exact.

And a really brilliant idea to be a calliope.  

Start saving your mailing tubes for next year, Caleb Spjute!

There were historical characters including Groucho:  

"Folks, I've had a really great time.  But this wasn't it."

And a young Bob Dylan.  Or Mick Jagger.  It was hard to tell.

In the end, even the sugar high couldn't overcome mother nature.

Nah, if you dropped into Philly on Halloween, 

it really wouldn't look that different from every day!

Hope you have a fun Halloween.

Summer-y Summary

Temperatures dropped into the 30s and 40s this week, 

so we removed the A/C units from windows and vacuumed the furnace filters.

Only a few cuss words were required.

It was an occasion to reflect on a great summer.

It was busy. 

It started with a couple of graduations.

Followed by a summer camp:

a dozen scouts, 

an idyllic setting in the Poconos, 

fun activities,

 

and a stream to swim in.

Then there was Youth Conference:

150  young men and women, 

buses,

another idyllic setting, 

a pool to swim in, 

and a massive production seemingly just for us.

There was lots of swimming 

by lots of boys. Thanks, Uncle Dick, for the use of your pool!

 

There were family reunions, and boating on Bear Lake.

 

 

There was boating on the Susquehanna River.

 

There were random touristy things.

a quick trip for Gabe to San Juan, Puerto Rico,

a long work trip to El Paso, Texas (Gabe shown here sporting the fashionable and functional "snake gaiters"), 

It was a little hot and humid at times.

But if you sat down to create a fun and memorable summer, you probably would have made this one.