On Halloween: Candy To/From Strangers

Tonight is Halloween, and already I have seen several references to the tradition of Trick 'o Treat as giving candy to strangers, getting candy from strangers (dependent upon perspective) or one of many other variants on different social media sites. The phraseology exposes some problems in our current society. Namely that either the tradition has evolved to include strangers, we no longer know our neighbours, or both.

Up until the last decade or two, we knew our neighbours. These were people we interacted with on a daily basis. Our kids all knew each other, and the parents knew each other as well.  We knew the elderly across the street.  When a new family moved in, we would introduce ourselves, even if not right away. On Halloween, the kids would go from door to door seeking treats, not from strangers, but from people they knew. Parents stayed home to meet the neighbourhood kids at their own door to treat them. Even if they weren't sure exactly who was behind the mask, it was the child of on of the neighbours, someone you knew.

At some point, though, we became reclusive. We stopped trusting our neighbours. Not because they became less trustworthy, but because we stopped interacting with them.  We ceased introducing ourselves to the folks who moved in. We became surrounded by a sea so strangers. Suddenly, the kids weren't safe to go out by themselves on Halloween. Not because of any increased danger over yesteryear, but simply because we didn't know. The majority of doors knocked upon were those of strangers, through no fault but our own. Who is the child behind the mask? It could be anyone.

So, not realising what caused the problem in the first place, we began to come up with solutions. The most simple and best solution, getting to know your neighbours and community, was out of the question, why, those people could be anyone, they could even be <insert scary thing here>. So instead we broke the tradition further inventing things like Trunk or Treat, where parents drive their children to a predetermined location and the kids go from car to car collecting treats, always under the watchful eye of the parent.

Or, worse yet, we drive our kids to the so-called good candy neighbourhoods, a feat of which I am guilty myself.  Though, at least in my case, only to neighbourhoods where I well knew at least one resident, and only because the area I currently live in is Halloween Dark, not many children here, so all the houses are dark and without many (if any) treats for any costumed kiddos, though we still visit the few neighbours that do have treats.

How can we fix this? Over the next year, get to know your neighbours. Build community. If you have a garden, give away your surplus (food is a great get-to-know-you). Have cookouts and barbecues. Someone has to start, don't wait for it to be the other guy. Your neighbourhood isn't scary, even on Halloween, unless you don't know your neighbours, and the only way to combat fear is knowledge.

Frugal Living 2: Food Frugality

In an online "discussion" (link) on taxes, food stamps, "fair share", government spending, and other semi-related things that typically get brought up in such "discussions", I came across someone making the statement that Eating fresh, healthy, unprocessed food is expensive and a luxury.

It does nott matter if you fall to the left, right, or centre when it comes to fiscal matters; that someone would make (and believe) such a statement is wrong on many levels. Including in those levels the fact that government subsidies (such as those for corn) has driven the cost of "junk food" well below where it should be. Further, people have forgotten how easy it is to grow "fresh, healthy unprocessed food", and even if you include the cost of preserving it for later use, it is still far more inexpensive to grow and store your own food than it is to purchase it from the store; at least for the items you can produce on your own.

Insight: Selective Perception

Last night a number of recent conversations culminated in some very reflective dreams. originally, I was going to write a long blog post about family, and may yet do that, just not today. It was going to be about the different kinds of family, with a portion dedicated to "the family we choose" and how, over the years, most of my family of this type has dwindled to nothing before I realized what they were.

Milestones

In just under four dozen days, I will have been on this earth two and a half dozen years.

Somewhere in those 0z40 days I'm going to have to write a post as to why I prefer dozenal over decimal, but for now, just understand that dozenal ages make for great milestones.

• At a half-dozen years, I started the first grade, and, more importantly IMO, Cub Scouts.
• At a dozen years of age, I was given my first [pellet] rifle and taught to shoot.
• At a dozen and a half years of age, I graduated High School, became recognised as a legal adult and eligible to vote in elections.
• [Incidentally, the legal drinking age in this state is one and three-quarter dozen years old.]

You can see why this makes for great milestones; well, as stated above, I will be two and a half dozen years old fairly soon, so it's time to assess where I am, and, more importantly, where I want to be in six years.

Here's where I am:

• The Good:
• I'm married to the love of my life
• I have a smart, handsome son
• The Bad:
• I'm broke
• Over $40k (decimal, not dozenal) in debt
• No House
• Currently living with / renting from my mother
• Car that constantly needs fixing
• The Ugly:
• I'm obese (I weigh well over two gross pounds, and I consider two gross too gross)

So, where do I want to be in six years? 

Well, I want the parts that are currently good to stay that way, if not improved upon (growing the family would be nice).

 I want to be in shape, 0z160lbs would suit me just fine if it was muscle instead of fat.  I want to be able to do all the things a human should be able to do (pull myself up onto a ledge, walk around Stone Mountain at a decent clip without getting winded, etc).  Barring injury, I want to have participated in a few Highland Games.

As for the improving my financial state, I need to be in my own house. I don't want to be in any more debt than I am now (including any mortgage). I want a new vehicle, one that I can do some of the maintenance on myself (I'm currently too fat to change my own oil).

I've got a long way to go, but I'm constantly working towards becoming debt free, self-reliant, and fit; while maintaining honour & integrity, improving happiness, and decreasing negative stress.

KUpdate!

I tried to start back to my paleo/primal diet at the beginning of the year, and it lasted for a little over half the month of January before we hit a snag with the finances. So, I was eating grains and other such foods I should be staying away from for the later half of the month as they were already in the pantry. As of this morning, I am officially back to the low-carb lifestyle. Also, as of yesterday morning, I am back to taking my multi-vitamin of choice.

2012 Goals

Okay, stealing the idea for this post from Shawn Stratton's Blog and his post of the same title, I am posting a list of my major goals for the year (along with some of the minor ones). Like Shawn, I don't really do New Year Resolutions all that often, but I do set goals and swear oaths.

As the below goals get completed, they may be replaced with newer goals. This is especially true of the Health & Fitness and Professional goals.

Cast Iron Skillets

As I get back into my paleo/primal/low-carb diet/lifestyle after a break of a few months, which I realise now was a huge mistake, I realise I should do an article on cast iron cookware, specifically, the skillets that I use to prepare so much of my food. This morning, the small skillet was finally re-seasoned to the point that not a bit of egg stuck. So, I feel now is the perfect time to go over the care and use of cast iron skillets.

A Scout Is Thrifty

As a youth, I was heavily involved in the Scouting program and as a scout, I swore an Oath to, among other things, do my best […] to obey the Scout Law and keep myself […] mentally awake and morally straight. The Scout Oath is a personal one, it is not to the country, to BSA, or even to the troop. It is the scout's Oath to himself, and is "on [his] honor". As such, it is for the scout to handle should he break his oath. I have broken my Oath — parts of it, anyway; but to break a part is to break the whole. My honour demands that I rectify this breach, by taking the Oath once again, living by it, and making amends where I can.

This article is directed specifically at young men and women from ages in their mid to late teens, and generally to the population as a whole. With this article I hope to help you understand some concepts that I "knew" as a teen, but did not understand. Concepts I did not understand until well after my lack of understanding got me in trouble. Hopefully, you will come to understand these concepts and avoid trouble.

Sanity Check

I'm writing this from our motel room as I look out the window at the ocean.

Many people have criticised us for going on a week long vacation to the beach when they know we are trying to pay back debts and save for a house. To them, and any else who wonder why we would take such an expensive trip when that money could be going somewhere more useful: if you've been focused on something for a long while, especially something tiring, like debt repayment, you need to take a break from time to time. You need to take a sanity check to keep you focused and keep you from burning out. This vacation is such a check.

As I sit here, my wife reading, the waves crashing outside, I can feel my energy, and my resolve, returning, rebuilding, and restoring. When we return in a week, we will all be the better for it, and our efforts towards repayment, preparing and saving redoubling. The weariness has been fading from our faces, and we find ourselves telling the other We needed this.

If you find yourself getting burnt out, take a sanity check; not so much that it works against what you have worked so hard to do, but enough that you can find your stride again, and reset the pace you once kept.

Celestial Greetings

Most mornings, I get up early, shower, cook, eat, and leave for work before sunrise.

Often I will greet the moon (if still in the sky) and the sun when I first spot them in the day (especially while driving); just a simple good morning, Máni/Sunna typically.

This morning, however, I had greeted the moon (it seems that the likelihood of greeting is directly proportional to fullness) as normal however, a quarter hour later, when the sun rose directly behind me, rather than my usual, quiet greeting, I bellowed out loud and strong Good Morning, Sunna! Hail! Hail the Morning! Hail the New Day!

I rather surprised myself with my greeting, but it felt right, and I knew today would be a good day.

Sharing Your Path

Each of us follows a path, several paths, really. We all follow our own path when it comes to our beliefs: spiritual, moral, economical, kink, what products we buy – every aspect of our life. Typically, we wish to share our path with others, some religious communities require it. There are several ways you can share your path/beliefs/brand-loyalty/way-of-doing-things, in this post I will share with you how I choose to share. You don't have to follow it, but I hope you'll at least listen to my methods, and hopefully see some wisdom in them.

People Like Me.

I prefer to spend my time with people like me. The more like me a person is, the more I like to spend with him, or her. I like to spend time with people who think like I do, who have similar goals, and see the world in similar ways. With Luck I found someone very similar to and she agreed to spend the rest of her life with me. There are still differences, but they are differences we live with.