Halloween, Elections, and funerals

I really should be more timely! We didn't get a ton of trick-or-treaters this year, but then again we almost never go. That didn't stop me from putting up some decorations though. There was a "flickering-candle" light bulb in the yard light, a smoking skull on the planter, an inflatable cat jumping out of a pumpkin on the lawn, and a projector up in out bedroom playing a Halloween screen saver on the front windows along with a selection of songs and sound effects. One of the parents said the 'window display' was really cool!
Of course November 4th brought us election day. Is it sad that I was ready for the elections because it would mean the end of all the phone calls, junk mail, and negative TV ads? When Jay and I were watching ER the previous Thursday, the overwhelming majority of commercials were negative campaign ads. 'Senator So-and-So is fiscally irresponsible!' 'My opponent said something thirty years ago that I'm going to use against him now!' 'The other guy kicks puppies and steals candy from babies!' Enough!
On a sadder note, Jay and I went to a funeral last Saturday. The father of one of Jay's cousins died, and Jay wanted to make sure he was there to support his cousin since they were really close growing up. The Chaplin did a good job of celebrating the father's life. He passed along a couple stories, and asked the people in attendance to share their own anecdotes and stories.
After leaving the club where the funeral was held, we went over to Jay's aunt and uncle's house to talk with them for a little bit. Before leaving we gave Jay's uncle a ride in my car. Jay drove and explained how everything worked.
After that we headed over to another cousin's house for about twenty or thirty minutes to offer some home improvement advice before heading back home.