Halloween

This is two posts in a day, but this is important.

Today is Halloween. The past ten years or so has seen a decline in traditional trick or treating (door to door). It's being replaced by trunk or treat or even office trick or treat, where kids go to offices and stores for candy. This is wrong! Trick or treating teaches kids the value of work. They learn the more doors they knock on, the more candy they get. They are taught a good work ethic. Trunk or treat or office trick or treating teaches them that all they have to do is walk around with their hands out. It perpetuates a welfare-state mentality. We need to take back traditional trick or treating. The future of our youth and our nation depends on it. Who will stand for trick or treating as it has been traditionally done? If not us, who? If not now, when?

Fall

We've had some beautiful weather the last couple of weeks. Fall is my favorite time of year. The days are warm, the sunlight comes at a different angle, leaves crunch under your feet and there is a hint of chill to the air.

This has been an exciting fall, as well. Last week, I was awarded the Award of Merit by the Boy Scouts of America for service to Scouting. We had a nice banquet where eight of us received this award. It was supposed to be a surprise, but someone had to fill out the form, and no one knew what I had been involved in over the years, so our bishop asked me to complete the form and then forget that I did it. It was interesting to go back to 1978 and remember all the positions I've held.

Also this past week, Courtney and Robert closed on their condo in North Salt Lake and officially moved out of mom and dad's house. They are such a cute couple; we'll miss them.

Brad and Mel made plans for next year. It looks like they will be in Normal, Illinois, for the next two years of their lives. Who comes up with these names?

Cocoroo -- Columnist

It looks like my appointment as the Catalyst's bicycle columnist is set. The timing is a little off because we're going into winter and bike commuting isn't going to be on everyone's mind right now, but it will give me time to work on a few columns. In the meantime, I'm continuing my monthly columns for the Intermountain Commercial Record. The banking crisis has given me endless fodder for my columns. It's interesting that the Secretary of the Treasury has gone from being the guy whose signature is on a dollar bill to the most powerful man in America. The election is almost an afterthought.

If only there was a way to get paid (well) for writing columns. Sigh.