| Fri Nov 1 Ok, I had to send this out because so much happened - just last night. Halloween in Kingcome is no small thing. With only about 50 people TOPS in the village now (adults and children) one would think, "Eh, send the kid out with a Ziploc bag and she'll come home with a pretty empty bag and a Snickers." That is what us ignorant people thought. Nicole came back with more candy than Kristin or I have ever gotten roaming through large middle class neighborhoods over the course of 2-3 years combined. Each family gave out their OWN Ziploc bags of all sorts of candy. We, I'm sure, looked like shmucks, 'Here you go little kid, have a Kit Kat!" followed by looks of disgust and, rightfully so, "That's it?" So we'll be feasting and rotten-toothed for 2 years, with no need to go out next Halloween. This was followed by an event at the school last night. Costume judging for little kids, medium kids and adults with BIG money prizes, $75 for kids, $150 for adults. Commented one woman, "Wow, for a bankrupt band we sure come up with a lot of money for these things." Costumes ranged from ghouls to transvestites. One man said, "I was going to dress up like an Indian, but I realized I already am an Indian." Usually this event is followed by a major fireworks show (on Halloween?) but there were none around. By tradition, school the next day does not start until 11:00 a.m. so that kids can get over their candy hangovers and sleep in. Well, the night did not end there for us, either. After Nicole was asleep, I went to look out the window that faces the river as I do every night. You know, just looking for that elusive wildlife. That's when I saw it... "Kristin, come over here quick!" We watched as a huge black bear tipped over our garbage can, ate for a while, came to the window close enough for me to stick my head out and take a picture. We watched as it sauntered around back and forth for about 10 minutes. Then it was off into the night. The thought of a wild animal, right in the front yard, capable of devouring something like, oh, ME, is very humbling. And terrifying, but "humbling" will not deter people from visiting us. Halloween Night, 2002: The Night a Black Bear was Right Outside Our Window. I could have grabbed it. One last thing, someone else's quote: We were down at a neighbor's house (everybody is a neighbor here, it's too small to not be) barbequing salmon. BBQing is having a salmon split in half, held up vertically on sticks and stuck out of the ground right in front of an open fire, outside. The fire slowly cooks one side of the salmon, then it is rotated so the other side cooks, nice and roasted. Some of the fish we were taking home was not quite done and we had to leave, so a guy grabbed it out of the ground and held it directly over the flames. "Look," he said, "Indian microwave." The fish was cooked real fast and we could leave. Hope you have a nice Novem-bear. John and Kristin and Nicole |