Thursday, October 31, 2013

Don't Miss Christie, Gudagno, GIULIANI On The Road!

On Friday, October 31, Governor Christie and Lt. Guadagno continue their statewide bus tour for a third day.

Governor Christie will be joined by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for stops in Rutherford, River Edge, Hackensack, and Harrison.

Day Two of Governor Christie's tour takes him to stops in Morris, Passaic, Essex, Hudson, and Bergen Counties.

The Lt. Governor will make stops in Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May Counties.

Friday, November 1, 2013.

MORRIS COUNTY

WHO:    Governor Chris Christie 

WHAT:   Meet and Greet with Patrons 

WHEN:   10:45 a.m.

WHERE Empire Diner
                1315 US 46  
                Parsippany, NJ
                 
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability
PASSAIC COUNTY

WHO:    Governor Chris Christie 

WHAT:   Meet and Greet with Patrons

WHEN:  11:55 a.m.

WHERE Tick Tock Diner 
                 281 Allwood Road
                 Clifton, NJ
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability


ESSEX COUNTY

WHO:    Governor Chris Christie 

WHAT:   Meet and Greet with Seniors 

WHEN:  1:00 p.m.

WHERE Glen Ridge Community Center
                228 Ridgewood Avenue
                Glen Ridge, NJ 
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

HUDSON COUNTY

WHO:    Governor Chris Christie 

WHAT:   Remarks to Hispanic Statewide Chamber of Commerce Expo 

WHEN:   2:10 p.m.

WHERE NJCU, Gillian Student Union Building  
                2039 JFK Boulevard 
                Jersey City, NJ
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

BERGEN COUNTY

WHO:    Governor Chris Christie, Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

WHAT:   Downtown Walk

WHEN:   3:20 p.m.

WHERE Lanni's Appliances
                116 Park Avenue #B  
                 Rutherford, NJ
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

BERGEN COUNTY

WHO:    Governor Chris Christie, Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

WHAT:   Meet and Greet with Patrons 

WHEN:   4:45 p.m.

WHERE:  River Edge Pizza Kitchen 
                 830 Kinderkamack Road
                 River Edge, NJ
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

BERGEN COUNTY

WHO:    Governor Chris Christie, Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

WHAT:   Bergen County Republican Headquarters Visit 

WHEN:  5:45 p.m.

WHERE:  339 Main Street 
                Hackensack, NJ
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

HUDSON COUNTY

WHO:    Governor Chris Christie, Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani

WHAT:   Rally with Supporters 

WHEN:   7:20 p.m.

WHERE:  Elks Lodge 
                406 Harrison Avenue 
                Harrison, NJ 
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

MONMOUTH COUNTY

WHO:    Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno  

WHAT:   Meet the Candidates Forum

WHEN:  10:00 a.m.

WHERE:  1 Covered Bridge Road 
                Manalapan, NJ
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

MONMOUTH COUNTY

WHO:    Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno  

WHAT:   Middletown Victory Center Visit  

WHEN:  11:15 a.m.

WHERE:  1715 Highway 35 
                Middletown, NJ
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

MONMOUTH COUNTY

WHO:    Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno 

WHAT:   Meet and Greet with Patrons 

WHEN:  12:15 p.m.

WHERE:  Blue Swan Diner 
                2116 Rt. 35 
                Oakhurst, NJ 
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

OCEAN COUNTY

WHO:    Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno 

WHAT:   Ocean County GOP Headquarters Visit 

WHEN:  1:15 p.m.

WHERE:  21 Rt. 37 East 
                Toms River, NJ 
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

OCEAN COUNTY

WHO:    Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno 

WHAT:   Meet and Greet with Patrons 

WHEN:  2:00 p.m.

WHERE:  Holiday City Mini Mall 
                 730 Jamaica Boulevard
                 Toms River, NJ 
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability
ATLANTIC COUNTY

WHO:    Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno 

WHAT:   Atlantic County Victory Center Visit

WHEN:  4:00 p.m.

WHERE:  6718 Black Horse Pike 
                Egg Harbor Township, NJ 
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability


ATLANTIC COUNTY

WHO:    Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno 

WHAT:   Meet and Greet with Patrons

WHEN:  4:45 p.m.

WHERE:  Star Diner 
                245 W White Horse Pike
                Absecon, NJ 
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability
CAPE MAY COUNTY

WHO:    Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno 

WHAT:   Middle Township Victory Rally 

WHEN:  6:20 p.m.

WHERE:  The Bellevue 
                9 South Main Street 
                Cape May Court House, NJ 
             
PRESS:  OPEN; No Availability

Nova Hoops At Wells Fargo Center; Tickets 11/1

The Villanova Wildcats men’s basketball team will tip-off against four BIG EAST opponents including Creighton (Monday, January 20), St. John’s (Saturday, February 22), Marquette (Sunday, March 2) and Georgetown (Saturday, March 8) at the Wells Fargo Center during the 2013-14 college basketball season.

Four-game ticket packages priced at $80, $100, and $140 will go on sale on Friday November 1 at 10 a.m., exclusively through ComcastTIX online at ComcastTIX.com, by phone at 1-800-298-4200, or in person at the Wells Fargo Center Box Office. Packages include four games at a discounted price, plus an exhibition game to take place at the Wells Fargo Center against West Chester University on Saturday, November 2 at 12 p.m.

Last season, the Wildcats defeated Top 5 teams Louisville, Syracuse and Georgetown in dramatic upsets posting a 3-0 record at the Wells Fargo Center. Ranked fourth in the 2013 Big East Men’s Preseason Poll, the Wildcats return four starters this year from a team that won twenty games and received an NCAA Tournament invitation. This season, forward Jay Vaughn Pinkston and guard Ryan Arcidiacono are figured to assume leadership of head coach Jay Wright’s club.

Villanova Men’s Basketball Schedule at the Wells Fargo Center

Saturday, November 2 at 12 p.m. vs. West Chester

Monday, January 20 at 7 p.m. vs. Creighton

Saturday, February 22 at 1:30 p.m. vs. St. John’s

Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m. vs. Marquette

Saturday, March 8 at 2 p.m. vs. Georgetown

Comcast-Spectacor (comcast-spectacor.com) is the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment company which owns the Philadelphia Flyers (NHL), the home arena for both the Flyers and the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, the Wells Fargo Center, and four Flyers Skate Zone community ice skating and hockey rinks. In addition, Comcast-Spectacor is also the principal owner of Global Spectrum, the fastest growing firm in the public assembly management field with more than 100 facilities throughout the United States and Canada; Ovations Food Services, a food and beverage service provider; New Era Tickets, a ticketing and marketing company for public assembly facilities; Front Row Marketing Services, a commercial rights sales company; FanOne, a digital fan marketing company; and Paciolan, the leading provider of venue enablement, ticketing, fundraising and marketing technology solutions.

They Should Fire Sebelius, But They Won't

59th Elected Democrat Endorses Christie

Continuing to build bipartisan support for his reelection bid in the final week of the campaign, Governor Christie was today endorsed by lifelong Democrat and Penns Grove Councilwoman Jeanette Jackson. Councilwoman Jackson is the 59th elected Democrat to cross the aisle and endorse Governor Christie for reelection.

"Today, I'm proud to endorse Governor Christie - a leader who has consistently fought for bold, bipartisan solutions and that has put the best interests of our families and our state before politics. Importantly for local elected officials across the state, the Governor has made it clear that we have a partner in the Governor's Office by always having his door open and listening to our concerns and needs in an unprecedented way - and without concern for our party affiliation," said Councilwoman Jeanette Jackson. "For his partnership on some of New Jersey's toughest issues, and for his continued leadership through the most difficult of circumstances, I'm proud to say that Governor Chris Christie has earned my support and I endorse him for for reelection."

Penns Grove is a deeply Democrat Salem County town where Democrats outnumber Republicans by 46% and President Obama carried the town by 64% in 2012. Richly diverse, Penns Grove’s population is nearly 40% African American and over 28% Hispanic.

“I am extraordinarily proud of the broad-based, inclusive campaign we are running and the diverse support that we’ve earned by following a simple principle – working with people of good will, regardless of their party or where they come from, to get things done for the people we represent,” said Governor Christie. “Making that fundamental change was crucial to fixing the broken politics in our state, and I am proud of the record of accomplishment we have achieved for New Jersey by focusing on results, rather than partisan dysfunction. It’s an honor to share in those partnerships and that record with public servants like Councilwoman Jackson and I am thrilled to have her support in this campaign.”

Governor Christie has built a broad, diverse coalition of support representing communities across the state and Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike. The Governor has been endorsed by African American leaders and elected officials throughout the state, including Orange Mayor Dwayne Warren, Chesilhurst Mayor Michael Blunt, Paterson Councilman Anthony Davis, Bishop Reginald Jackson, more than 20 African American clergy leaders, and most recently Newark native, former NBA star, and community leader Shaquille O’Neal.

If this Doesn't Scare Ya . . . .

. . . we don't know what will.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYBODY!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Christie's Compelling New Ad: Direct, Personal



Christie for Governor today released its 10th television ad of the General Election entitled “Right Direction.” In the 30-second spot, Governor Christie recalls some of his first moments with victims in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, and articulates his mission of restoring normalcy to the lives of the state’s families and continuing to move New Jersey in the right direction.

“The first person I saw when I got off the helicopter was a woman. She saw me and she burst into tears. And she said to me ‘everything’s gone, you have to help me.’ I think people wanted me to tell them that it was gonna be ok, and that I wouldn’t forget them. And I know that there’s nothing more important for me to do as Governor than to complete the mission of bringing their lives back to normal,” says Governor Christie in the ad. “I know we still have work to do, but I really believe, finally, New Jersey’s moving in the right direction.”

Through his steady leadership in responding to the storm, his bipartisan work in taking on the biggest challenges facing our state, and his commitment to always put the people he represents first, the Governor has been the strong, effective leader New Jersey has needed for the past four years. The Governor’s resolution to complete that mission and to continue making bipartisan progress for the state in a second term is his commitment to the people of New Jersey.

Pope Sends Greetings To World Council Of Churches

The World Council of Churches (WCC) celebrates, from 30 October to 8 November, its tenth General Assembly in Busan, in the Republic of Korea, on the theme “God of Life, lead us to justice and peace”.
The Assembly, considered to be the most important management organ of the WCC, is convened every seven years and although the Catholic Church is not a member of the WCC, she collaborates with this organisation, participating in the theological research of the Commission on Faith and Constitution on the principal questions that continue to divide Christians, in the field of ecclesiology and, above all, through the “Mixed Working Group” which co-ordinates the various joint activities and initiatives. For this reason, the event will be attended by an official Catholic delegation in the role of accredited observers.
The Holy Father has sent a message to Cardinal Kurt Koch, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity in which he expresses his hope that “the present Assembly will help to consolidate the commitment of all Christ's followers to intensified prayer and co-operation in the service of the Gospel and the integral good of our human family”. He continued, “the globalized world in which we live demands of us a common witness to the God-given dignity of every human being and the effective promotion of the cultural, social and legal conditions which enable individuals and communities to grow in freedom, and which support the mission of the family as the fundamental building-block of society, ensure a sound and integral education for the young, and guarantee for all the untrammelled exercise of religious liberty. In fidelity to the Gospel, and in response to the urgent needs of the present time, we are called to reach out to those who find themselves in the existential peripheries of our societies and to show particular solidarity with the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters: the poor, the disabled, the unborn and the sick, migrants and refugees, the elderly and the young who lack employment”.

“I pray”, concluded the Holy Father, “that the General Assembly will contribute to a new impulse of vitality and vision on the part of all committed to the sacred cause of Christian unity, in fidelity to the Lord’s will for his Church and in openness to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Upon all gathered in Busan I invoke the abundant blessings of Almighty God, source of all life and of every spiritual gift”.

Independent Linden Mayor Backs Christie


Continuing to add support from across the political spectrum in his campaign for reelection, Governor Christie was today endorsed by longtime Linden mayor and Independent Richard Gerbounka. Mayor Gerbounka has provided independent leadership for Linden as a mayor and member of town council for 18 years, including his partnership with the Governor on commonsense, bipartisan reforms to get New Jersey back on the right path.

“Since taking office, Governor Christie proved that he would be a partner in the Governor’s office that local officials across this state were desperately missing. The Governor paired that partnership with strong leadership and a willingness to fight for the big, bold solutions our state needed,” said Linden Mayor Richard Gerbounka. "As a lifelong member of this community, I’m proud to endorse Governor Christie for reelection and continuing to work together to deliver bipartisan results for the people of Linden and New Jersey.”

A deeply blue and diverse town in which Democrats outnumber Republicans by 49%, Linden was previously carried by President Obama by nearly 50% in 2012 and by Jon Corzine by 23% in 2009. Linden’s population is nearly 27% African American and 25% Hispanic.

“Mayor Gerbounka has been a partner of mine since I took office, helping me to fight for our property tax cap, toolkit reforms, and pension and health benefit reforms. These bipartisan reforms are finally controlling the cost of government and delivering the smallest increase in property taxes in more than 20 years,” said Governor Christie. “I thank the Mayor for his independent leadership and his vocal support over the past four years, and look forward to continuing to make progress for Linden families over the next four.”

Governor Christie was joined by Mayor Gerbounka at the Beyond the C Restaurant in Linden to announce his support and greet residents on Day One of the Christie campaign’s 7-day, 90-stop bus tour to Election Day.

Free Library Of Philadelphia: Upcoming Events

Check out these great events upcoming at the Free Library of Philadelphia;

Leading Voices: Conversations from the C-Suite

Join us as we kick off Leading Voices: Conversations from the C-Suite, a new morning lecture program featuring the brightest minds in business, sponsored by Brandywine Realty Trust. 
Tickets include a copy of the featured book as well as a continental breakfast in the lobby of Parkway Central sponsored by the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. Breakfast is available at 7:30 AM.
Erik Prince | Civilian Warriors: The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror
Friday, November 22, 2013 at 8:00 AM
Buy tickets online October 30!




David Stockman | The Great Deformation: The Corruption of Capitalism in America
Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at 8:00 AM
Buy tickets online October 30!





Debora Spar | Wonder Women: Sex, Power, and the Quest for Perfection
Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 8:00 AM
Buy tickets online October 30! 
Pat Conroy | The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son
Tuesday, November 5, 2013 at 7:30 PM; 
buy tickets online>>
Conroy_Pat"A magician of the page" (New York Times), Pat Conroy weaves inspiration from life in his beloved low country with richly drawn characters who alternately rail against and romanticize the American South. His nine books includeThe Great Santini, which explored Conroy's ambivalent love for his abusive father; The Lords of DisciplineBeach Music; and The Prince of Tides, which was adapted into an Academy Award-winning film. Inducted into both the Georgia and South Carolina Halls of Fame, Conroy received a humanitarian award from the National Education Association for exposing the racism and appalling conditions in a tiny island school in his memoir, The Water is Wide. In his new book, Conroy recounts the tender final days of a man who finally achieved peace with his children.
Archer Mayor | Three Can Keep A Secret
Wednesday, November 6, 2013 at 7:30 PM; FREE
No tickets or reservations required. For more info: 215-567-4341
Mayor_ArcherThe Chicago Tribune has called Archer Mayor's Vermont based series of detective novels "the best police procedurals written in America." Mayor has 25 years experience as a volunteer firefighter and is death investigator for Vermont's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Three Can Keep a Secret is the 24th novel in his Joe Gunther detective series.
Katrina van Grouw | The Unfeathered Bird
Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 7:30 PM; FREE
No tickets or reservations required. For more info: 215-567-4341
With more than 300 detailed drawings representing 200 species, Katrina van Grouw's The Unfeathered Bird bridges art, science, and history in showing birds artistically arranged and engaged in behavior typical of the species--from a fish's-eye view of a swimming loon skeleton to an un-feathered sparrowhawk plucking its prey. Artist Katrina van Grouw graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1992 where she gained an M.A. in Natural History Illustration for an illustrated thesis on bird anatomy for artists. A former curator in the bird skin collections at London's Natural History Museum, van Grouw is also a qualified bird bander and has traveled on bird banding expeditions in Africa and South America. Read the glowing review in the the New York Times andview some of the extraordinary artwork in advance of the presentation.

Amy Tan | The Valley of Amazement
Friday, November 8, 2013 at 7:30 PM; 
buy tickets online>>
With a "wonderful eye for what is telling, a fine ear for dialogue, a deep empathy for her subject matter and a guilelessly straightforward way of writing" (New York Times), Amy Tan is the author of the beloved novels The Joy Luck Club, a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award;The Kitchen God's Wife; and The Hundred Secret Senses. She also co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of The Joy Luck Club. Spanning 50 years and two continents, her sweeping new novel plots the lives of three generations of women connected by family secrets, past traumas, and the mystery of a painting known as "The Valle

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Video: Obamacare VS The Private Sector



Christie (With Huge Lead) Now Offers Coattails

From our friends at the wonderful Save Jersey blog:
Christie HQ OpeningQuinnipiac poll released this morning indicates that Governor Chris Christie is running away with his race for reelection with 64% of the vote among likely voters, including support from 31% of Democratics.
More voters say they don’t know enough about Barbara Buono, the Middlesex County State Senator challenging Christie, than say they will vote for her.  35% say the have no opinion of her. 31% say they will vote for her.  Of those saying they will vote for Buono, 7% said there is a good chance they will change their minds before they cast their ballots.
48% said they would like to see Christie run for President of the United States.  41% said they would rather he didn’t run for President.
“From the banks of the Delaware to the beaches of the Atlantic, New Jersey voters like their governor, Christopher Christie.  On the banks of the Potomac?  Less like the governor, but still a lot” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
With his reelection virtually assured, Christie has devoted campaign resources to pick up three State Senate seats, according to a report in PolitickerNJ.
- See more at: http://savejersey.com/2013/10/christie-legislative-seats-races-governor-new-jersey/#sthash.PaBEcyk5.dpuf

Obamacre 'Promise' A Big Fat Lie!


How About A CPK Pizza For Halloween?



Photos: Autumn's Colors Dazzle, Delight














All photos copyright 2013 by Dan Cirucci.

How Losing Can Often Make You A Winner

The light is fading and the temperature is falling, but the Daredevils have energy to burn. A love of soccer to keep them warm, too.
And if all that fails, they've got a coach named Danielle Senior.
"As a player, you have to work hard, focus, and do what you're supposed to do," Senior, 42, explains as I chill (literally) on the sidelines at DeCou Field in Cherry Hill.
"Sometimes you're rewarded," the coach says. "And sometimes you're not."
In 2012, varsity coach Senior led
Click here to read the rest of Kevin Riordan's remarkable column in today's Philadelphia Inquirer and discover why Riordan rates as the finest teller of human interest stories in the region.

Video: Christie Hails 'The Spirit Of Sandy'



Today (one year after the storm) in Moonachie, NJ.

Monday, October 28, 2013

Decomposed Body Found In Haddonfield

This afternoon joggers found the body of a man in a wooded area off Merion Ave. in historic Haddonfield (NJ), one of the loveliest towns in the Philadelphia region.
The Camden County Prosecutor's Office says decomposition made the body impossible to identify at this point but it is apparently that of a man and reportedly evidence at the scene has raised suspicion regarding the circumstances of the man's death.
The homicide unit of the Prosceutor's Office is said to be leading the investigation.

Special LIVE Message From Governor Christie

On a conference call right now with Governor Chris Christie. He's asking EVERYONE to remain committed to the job at hand as we enter the final week of the campaign.
He says this will be viewed "as one of the most incredible statewide grassroots efforts that has ever been launched in the state's history -- in all 21 counties."
He says it is "totally a team effort" and he's very proud of it. He calls it "a great volunteer program" and says that this year volunteers have "made more than 3.5 million voter contacts" and that nearly half a million of these have been by door knocks. He's thanking everyone for their efforts and says "we've ID'ed more that 120 new supporters."
And the last week will see a real blitz by the Christie campaign and he stresses that "this is a slate effort." He promises a "very different" election night centered in Asbury Park "with a full night of really fun things planned with events for everyone."
But for now Christie is ready for a "huge bus tour" for the final week where he and the Lt. Governor will each make stops in every one of New Jersey's 21 counties with 92 stops in all. "We're gonna be fired up and ready to go," Christie says.
Christie pledges his complete support for those running with him and he generously thanks all of the volunteers at his campaign's more than 20 victory centers around the state. Hundreds of thousands of phone calls and door knocks are set for the coming week.
He notes that "the entire country is gonna be watching what happens next Tuesday night" as the campaign produces "a new and different coalition of voters" from what we've seen before.

Christie Video: 'Thank You, New Jersey!'

Pope Lauds Vatican TV Service. Employees

The Vatican Television Centre (CTV), instituted by Blessed John Paul II on 22 October 1983, celebrates its thirtieth anniversary and, this morning, as he received its members in audience, Pope Francis remarked, “It has come a long way in these three decades of activity”. Nowadays we find ourselves before new challenges “which we cannot elude, in order to maintain a firm evangelical perspective in this form of global communication highway”.
The Holy Father, after thanking the employees of the CTV for their dedication, and also their families, since “they live according to the Pope's weekly agenda. He advised the workers to “play as a team”, since “the effectiveness of the pastoral of communication is possible when bonds are created, by making a group of people converge around shared projects, in a 'unity of planning and resources'. We know that this is not easy, but if you help each other together to work as a team, the burden is lessened and, above all, also your style of working becomes a testimony of communion”.

“Be professionals in your service to the Church”, he continued. “Your work is of great quality, as it needs to be for the task that has been assigned to you. But your professionalism must always be in the service of the Church, in everything you do: in filming, in directing, in editorial decisions, in administration... Everything must be done with an ecclesiastical style and a perspective, that of the Holy See. It is necessary for the CTV to be able to effuse to spectators, to the faithful and to those who are further away, the perfume and hope of the Gospel”.

Newspapers Everywhere Endorse Chris Christie


New NJ Child Porn Law Cracks Down On Predators

New Jersey State Senate Republican Whip Kevin O’Toole stated the following regarding today’s announcement from the New Jersey Attorney General that 14 men will be prosecuted under the Senator’s new law for using a file-sharing network to distribute images of child pornography:

“We should all be proud of the growing and improving efforts of state and federal authorities to terminate child pornography in New Jersey. Perpetrators who think the Internet gives them a cloak of anonymity and an easier way to share and profit off of a sick fix must now think twice. With the arrest of these 14 men, predators are on notice: New Jersey now has some of the toughest laws and penalties for child pornography offenders.”

More details on the Senator’s new state child pornography law:


In August, the Child Pornography Prevention Act was signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie. It was introduced by Senator O’Toole in January.

For Halloween: How About Some Pizza?


28 CHURCH ROAD, MAPLE SHADE, NJ 08052, 
{P} 856.608.7711, {F) 856.608.7722

Obamacare: Hard To Argue With The Facts


Chris Christie Snags VERY BIG Endorsement


Shaquille O'Neal endorses Governor Christie for reelection.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Halloween Is Now WAY Out Of Control

Pretty soon those pop-up Halloween costume stores will close and we couldn't be happier.
We'll also be glad that we won't have to witness the sight of idiotic grownups dressed for Halloween in ridiculous costumes. Grownups have helped to ruin Halloween.
Did you dress in costume as a child and trick or treat? Fine! That's enough. Okay?
Halloween was never, ever meant to be a schlock fest. 
There is so much Halloween 'junk' for sale in the stores and so much Halloween stuff adorning homes that's the trend is truly scary. When Halloween begins to rival Christmas as a holiday you know we've got a problem. And it is rivaling Christmas.
As we wrote not very long ago in the Philadelphia Daily News:
Halloween is now so big that Americans spend almost as much on this faux-holiday as they do on Christmas. And Halloween is now the third largest party occasion, after New Year's and The Super Bowl. More candy is sold on Halloween than on Valentine's Day and people will actually send each other 28 million Halloween cards.
I don’t know about you but I’m not longing to receive a Halloween card from anyone. And it’s been decades since I’ve been out trick or treating.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for children enjoying the day dressed as ghosts, goblins and super-heroes and I’m happy to greet them. . . .
For children Halloween is a way of gently dealing with fright and fear while having some old-fashioned fun.
But grownups seem to have forgotten this and they’ve now set about stealing Halloween from the kids. Today, huge numbers of adults celebrate Halloween and at least half of them spend more than $100 each doing so. To me there’s nothing more awkward than a grownup trying to trick, astound, frighten or repulse somebody by wearing a Halloween costume. Most costumed adults look just plain dumb. Let’s face it, many of these people don’t need costumes to begin with and some of them are downright frightening no matter what time of the year it is.
But people will find countless ways to make fools of themselves and so the costume stores now start appearing in early August. When I see some costumed lackey trying to wave me into one of those huge, tacky Halloween stores I run in the opposite direction.
Still, I’m starting to feel like I’m the only one not costumed for Halloween. Even dogs have gotten into the act. Where did this dreadful trend start? Who was it that first thought: “Hey, let’s strip our beagle of whatever bit of doggy dignity it may have had by forcing it to wear a tiara and a tutu.” Dogs in costume look totally bewildered, and rightfully so. Dressing them up and parading them around on Halloween is just this side of cruel.
In fact, the whole Halloween situation is out of proportion. Haunted houses are a good example. Isn’t the world frightening enough without paying to visit a haunted house or participating in some other type of contrived horror? Why would you spend your money this way?
And why would you decorate your house in orange lights? When you think of it, orange is a pretty garish color to begin with. It should be used sparingly, if at all. Its time on the scene should be mercifully limited. But now we’re awash in a virtual sea of orange from mid September onward. Ugh!
To me, natural, seasonal adornments are fine. But now driving through suburbia I’m assaulted by Halloween lawn decorations included animated witches, skeletons and ghouls. And the strangest custom of all involves people who put tombstones on their front lawn. Think about it: Why would you turn your front lawn into a cemetery? Why would you welcome death itself to your door?
I pose this question because when you think about it Halloween is all about death. Its ancient origins are said to lie in Celtic traditions observing the night when the Celts believed the dead returned to earth. With the coming of Christianity, this festival was turned into Halloween – the eve of All Saints and All Souls days. But the observance is still rooted in death.
When an observance that celebrates death begins to rival Christmas as one of our biggest holidays we’ve got a problem. My solution: put a few pumpkins out, sip some cider, enjoy the fall foliage and let the dead rest in peace.