A Halloween candy hype man embraces the rhythm and hues of autumn in NC
.JPG "Fall means apple harvest time in North Carolina orchards.")
I’m writing about Halloween because nothing offers a better seasonal reflection than rows of lit-up Christmas trees at my local Lowe’s.
On the left are twinkling fake firs; to the right are green and orange blowups bigger than a downtown Durham apartment.
Holidays in the Triangle are about new reasons to buy seasonal stuff to fill your claustrophobic attic.
I have reasons to take on the Halloween theme:
I’m on a candy-buying hype campaign that’s gone nowhere. My wife insists we don’t need to buy $86,745.37 worth of candy. Last year, we had one trick-or-treater who showed up slightly after 6 p.m. She’s a cute kid who always waves hello, so I loaded her bag with enough treats to annoy any mom. Focus on the historical data and not sugaring up our HOA’s only precocious kid, my wife insists.
Who doesn’t enjoy wicked witticisms? The News & Observer’s Martha Quillin and Josh Shaffer pulled together a fun list of how to dress like a North Carolina newsmaker for Halloween. No. 4 on the list is famous or infamous, depending upon your party affiliation or if you’ve registered for the is-it-or-is-it-not No Labels party: “This one for the party-switching lawmaker is easy to create. All you need is a pair of dresses: one blue, one red. Wear both. Change them often.”
I need to complain about the weather. (Always.) I figured Halloween is important locally since the cheery meteorologists have focused more on preparing trick-or-treaters for Tuesday instead of answering whether Tammy the hurricane will be more of a disaster than “Tammy” the movie.
Autumnal rhythm and hues
This is our third time through the Triangle’s autumnal rhythm. We spent the prior eight years in Florida or Texas, where the only indication of seasonal change is switching from short sleeves to long sleeves for a week in December.
So much has changed since we became first-generation North Carolinians:
Our October shopping lists at the North Carolina State Farmers Market include an array of apple choices, especially cider. (For those who prefer adventuring along North Carolina’s rural roads, read Martha’s recent story about favorite apple orchards.)
My wife and I have had deep discussions on if it’s worth getting stuck for hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Blue Ridge Parkway or battling for a parking spot at Umstead State Park. It’s not fall around here unless someone is giddy about experiencing leaf pigmentation, especially the Shakespearean saga pitting chlorophyll, carotenoids and anthocyanin. (This descriptor assumes Mr. Shakespeare could get into North Carolina State’s College of Natural Resources.)
We now understand that Triangle residents wearing team colors in October aren’t necessarily dressed for a football game. It’s Live Action at UNC, NC State’s Kevin Keatts schmoozing at ACC Tipoff, and Duke’s Countdown to Craziness proving our universe’s axis tilts towards college basketball. (We recommend signing up for The N&O’s ACC Now newsletter. Go to the menu bar at newsobserver.com, and then click on “STAY CONNECTED” to find the link to our newsletters.)
It’s such an inspiring time of the year.
An opportunity to experience the panorama of our state.
A chance to reflect on the twilight of another calendar year.
A time to forget that pollen season is at least four, maybe five, months away.
Bill Church is executive editor of The News & Observer. He doesn’t know what it means when outdoor grills go on sale.
