Operation AXIOM
Sunday, 31 October: Halloween
I hope one & all had a delightful Halloween; mine was really quite nice, though outside the norm. As will be detailed as soon as is practicable in a "Project MERCATOR" post, I declined a slew of Halloween invitations for Thursday & Friday nights, & of course on Saturday night I was occupied watching the valiant Wolverines fall short against the ferocious Nittany Lions (scroll down to "The Victors"). When Sunday night rolled around, I felt like wearing a costume just to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters would make me a bit of a fraud, having forsworn opportunities properly to parade around in a costume. But I do now have a birdwatcher costume that can be gathered together & donned with five-minutes' notice (though improved if I have enough time to borrow a few spotting guides from the lending library); I hope not to wear it as a primary costume, but henceforth I'll always have it on hand in a pinch, instead of relying on my Captain Thumbs-up Aqua-cadet uniform (&, again, 'tis a uniform, not a costume) for a backstop.

Last year, I reentered the Halloween scene by costuming myself as the Swine Flu & attending my first Loose Ties show (Wayback Machine). This year, though I didn't attend any Halloween parties, I felt much more deeply immersed in the Halloween spirit. I thought about Halloween well in advance, & the fondness I felt was principally for the institutions & rituals of Halloween, whereas last year I was motivated mainly by nostalgia for the annual milestone Halloween had been in my childhood. I've missed Halloween, not just because it meant the world to me as a lad, but because of the promise of fun it still holds. I am already compiling spooky songs for next Halloween, & intend to make the R.B.D.S.O.T.D. celebration of Halloween both a full week long & an annual tradition at The Secret Base. An element I need to add to the festivities is the cinema. I'm not talking about stupid horror movies, but a foursome of films that truly evoke the spirit of Halloween, not a proper tetralogy, but a pair of pairs: Ghostbusters & Ghostbusters II and The Addams Family & Addams Family Values. (I have not forgotten The Nightmare Before Christmas, I'm just not sure if it should join the Christmas film register alongside classics like A Christmas Story & Scrooged or be assigned to Halloween with the Ghostbusters & the Addamses.)

Halloween '09 was about stepping back into the rituals of the secular holiday, Halloween '10 was about rediscovering the internal spirit behind the rituals, & Halloween '11 will be about synthesizing those two halves into a properly template of celebration for all the years to come. Three hundred sixty-three days until Halloween; it's time to start getting ready.

Monday, 1 November: All Saints' Day
As Father McInnis reminded all in attendance at Sunday's eleven o'clock Mass (which was even more crowded than usual, leading me to suspect many who usually come to the afternoon five o'clock Mass had come earlier so as not to interfere with the Halloween festivities), because All Saints' Day fell on a Monday it was not a holy day of obligation, "but it is a holy day of opportunity." Delighted by this observation, I resolved to wake up early & attend Mass on All Saints' Day, even though I'd already satisfied my obligation to do so. There's no better way to start the day than with Mass, it sets a joyful tone that lasts & lasts. (Pardon the unintentional near-rhyme.)

Tuesday, 2 November: All Souls' Day
At dinner yesterday I mentioned to my mother how much I enjoyed All Saints' Day, even though as someone who was raised in the post-Vatican II Church I was taught jack squat about the saints. Mom rejoined that she always thought of All Saints' Day as being for all the departed, not just the saints. No, I corrected her, that's the meaning of tomorrow (today), All Souls' Day. (Not all the blame for my childhood ignorance of Church tradition & teaching falls on the Church, my sainted mother deserves plenty herself.) He's hoping that Grandpa Wilson, Grandpa Little, & Grandma Wilson--in chronological order of demise--having left the Church Militant, have passed through the Church Penitent & are now members of the Church Triumphant. If they're still part of the Church Penitent, that's nothing more prayer can't rectify.