Do You Believe in Halloween?

Thursday, September 01, 2005
---Halloween---;Or, I believe in things Seen and Unseen; Or, Why Flip Wilson was wrong.

One of the amazing things is how all kids really get Halloween. There is no long textbook required. Kids all around the world have some sort of celebration like this.

As a youngster, in church, reciting the Creed....maybe there were some boring parts about the liturgy, but certanly not the words, "I believe in things Seen and Unseen." Yes, that was something that I could really believe in. Something I could understand at a young age.

Some think that Halloween is just about candy, just about sugar. I don't think so. Although I will grant sugar is pretty big these days.

How come when we get older it gets so difficult? So difficult to get from the Seen to the Unseen. We think of Flip Wilson. "What you see is what you get." Was Flip Wilson right?

It seems to the Observer that there is a whole lot more we get besides the obvious. Stuff we were not counting on. For better. For worse. In fact, in the holiday season, when I go back to visit with the old chums from high school and college, it used to be so easy to separate out the beauty queens and cheerleaders from the rest; So easy to know the jocks from the nerds. Not today. Seems they all look alike. It is pretty shocking.

Seems like Flip Wilson was wrong. The kids are right. You get a lot more than meets the eye. There really is Seen and Unseen.

Happy Halloween.