Oct 30, 2015 6 min read

…By the time you read this, my favorite holiday of the year, Halloween, is in full force. And I couldn’t be more excited. But at the time of writing this column, October 31 is still a few days away, and I cannot wait for the awesome holiday, because it will consist o my wife and I taking our son trick-or-treating for the second time and hopefully scoring a lot of candy for me – oops, I mean, for our son. And then, I will end the night by continuing my annual tradition of popping some popcorn, turning off the lights and watching “Halloween,” the greatest horror movie ever made.

(Don’t worry, my son won’t be watching it with me. I’m going to be a responsible father and not let him watch it until he’s an appropriate age. However, I do recall watching it for the first time at a young age, and I think I turned out alright, even if there are family members who might disagree with that last statement.)

But once we get past Halloween, it’s time to move on to November, a month that always fills me with dread because of two factors: The fact that Christmas (and all of the stress and expenses that will inevitably come with it) is going to be here before we know it, and that it will be only a matter of time before we have to endure Mother Nature’s wintry fury.

Faithful readers of this column should know how much I loathe the winter season, so I won’t repeat it here. At least not yet. Just wait until the first real winter storm hits Greene County, and then I will unleash my fury. (I’m sure my co-workers cannot wait for that to happen.)

And I’ll save my gripes about Christmas until we get closer to December 25 because I haven’t yet had the time to feel the full-blown panic of the biggest holiday of the year, especially one that is going to be even more hectic this year due to the fact that my wife wants to make it “the biggest and best Christmas ever” for our son. She wants Bryson to experience the big tree, hundreds of decorations around the house, a fancy Nativity scene, and awesome presents, most of which I am sure will have “some assembly required” and I cannot assemble anything properly if my life depended on it.

Yes, it’s going to be a long Christmas this year.

But despite being worried about the things that cause me anxiety and dread in November and the following months, I will also focus on the positive things that occur this month: Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I love Turkey Day because it is truly a wonderful time of year for our family. I cherish the moments that we share together during this holiday, and I am always reminded during that time how thankful I am for our blessings.

And as for Black Friday, or as I call it, “Anti-Thanksgiving,” it is one of my favorite days of the year because nothing beats fighting hundreds of other rabid shoppers in the wee hours of the morning for a discounted sale item. My wife says I’m either an idiot or a glutton for punishment because I love Black Friday. Sometimes I wonder if it’s possible to be both of those things.

So, I will be touching on all of those subjects – and many other highs and lows of the upcoming winter season – in future columns. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

But for now, I did want to share with you some info about several other important November dates.

First of all, don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour at 2 a.m. on Nov. 1, as we mark the end of Daylight Savings Time.

(Or, you can do what I always do: Wait till morning and spend an hour being confused as to what time it is.) Incidentally, the Daylight Savings Time always reminds me to pass along this piece of good advice that was given to me years ago by someone from the emergency management agency: When changing your clocks, don’t forget to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. That simple little deed could be a real lifesaver.

I also want to remind everyone that the Municipal Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3. This should be a very interesting election, with races for magisterial district judge and commissioners on the ballot. The Messenger staff believes that all residents should take the responsibility of voting very seriously, and we hope that Greene County voters take the time to cast their ballots.

I’ve said it before, and I say it again: Folks, voting in an election is a privilege that every American citizen should be glad to have and should take very seriously. If you do not vote for whatever reason at any election, then you do not have the right to complain if you are unhappy about the way it turns out.

If you have any questions about the election, do not hesitate to call the county elections office at 724-852-5230.

And lastly, I want to remind everyone of the many Veterans Day services and parades that are being held throughout the county Nov. 7-11.

I was informed that the Waynesburg Veterans Day parade will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 7; Rogersville United Methodist Church will hold a service at the church at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8, which will take the place of Sunday morning worship; the American Legion Filer-Sadlek Post 954 in Jefferson will hold its annual Veterans Day Parade at 10:45 a.m., with a program following at Jefferson-Morgan High School at 11:30 a.m.; Carmichaels American Legion Post 400 will hold a service at the Post in Carmichaels at 11 a.m.

We here at the Messenger encourage all county residents to go out and pay tribute to our local veterans at whatever Veterans Day events are being held. We should all be grateful for every opportunity we have to honor our veterans, to hear their stories, to learn about what they went through, to gain a better understanding of their ordeals and the sacrifices they made to help keep our country free.

I hope that all of Greene County will take the time to learn more about our local veterans, to understand their sacrifices and to give them the honor they deserve – not just on Veterans Day, but all year long.

Or at the very least, next time you see a veteran, tell them these two simple words: “Thank you”…