No dressing up like a fairy princess, scary is the
ONLY acceptable costume for Halloween around here, I am told. (Don’t pay any
attention to those silly rabbits below!)*
Happy Halloween, guys. At Sainsbury’s, one of my
favorite places to shop (well, okay, I admit it is about the only major grocery
store in the area within walking distance), I found this weird thing in
the discounted produce section: a package of witch’s noses. Actually, they’re
purple carrots, if you can imagine. So unusual, the color and shape and all,
that I myself was having a hard time distinguishing exactly what was in there
beneath the plastic covering!
Today I got together with a young woman in our ward on the university campus
for lunch. Back a ways when Leah noticed that I was picking up cigarette
packages (??) – because of the graphic warnings they contained – I had expressed
that I sure wished I knew if the anti-smoking campaign was having any effect, she said, ‘I know just the person you can talk to on
that subject!’ not only that, but she happened to be in our ward and living
quite close to the Wards. (I had first become interested in the idea of making change for a healthier life style through media intervention when
Erin took a class on the use of media as it relates to public health. I
thought that was a pretty interesting notion – graphic images to scare people
into refraining or even better, not starting in the first place.)
Amanda and I met up by the clock tower – one place on campus
even the greenest novice can find, and we went to eat in the student cafeteria.
There were hot choices or cold, salad-type things. We opted for light and
healthier. I will definitely go there again: it wast deli salad kind of food where you could choose five different sides, plus a protein (hummus,
cottage cheese, chicken, crab or other meat salad-type thing) component, for
under £4.
It was really good, AND we didn’t over eat or feel guilty for what we had
eaten. We settled down to eating and getting to know each other better. Let me
just say that in that hour of conversation we never did get to the reason I had
originally wanted to talk to Amanda. (We have another lunch planned soon.) We were
too busy just talking about our lives – mostly I wanted to know about hers. It
was very riveting, as she had/has some major psychological issues in her family
growing up. Having completed her undergraduate work, Amanda began a doctorate
in the research end of neuroscience, but, finding herself locked away in a
cubicle for hours on end, she quickly came to the conclusion that this was not to her liking
but wanted to be more on the clinical side (the people interaction side) of
research - as opposed to the ‘studying facts all day’ side. Amanda is in her late
thirties, and the wonderful thing is that, after much prayer, soul-searching and
qualms on her part, married her ‘eleven-years younger’ husband,
Nathaniel, a year ago next month. (You would not guess it, amazingly, to see
them together.) They are doing well and very active in the church. (He is the
ward organist, and when he’s not, it’s Martin.)
Amanda not only works at the university, but is now working on a slightly different doctorate (the first, which she did NOT
complete, was at a university in London) in the area of lung cancer and issues
relating to post-surgery follow-up and its implications, but is also employed at the university – leading to the fact that, before we knew it, she had to go. So before
toddling off home myself I took a little further look around at the University
of Birmingham campus. Regrettably, not any signs to speak of, really, that
today was Halloween. (I myself spent the evening at home in my little cubicle.) But I came to think that it really was all a blind
because, speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that University student
Halloween revelry, beginning later in the evening, went on well into the WEE hours of the
morning – because I heard it in my bed while I was trying to sleep!)
*When I encountered these guys in the student commons area and asked
if I could take their picture, they said, ‘Well, sure, but we’re not too scary.’
(showing they felt the need to qualify their lack of frightfulness – lest you
get the impression that my first statement was not valid.)
Photos_
1- happy ghoulish
All Saint’s Even’
2- wet
from trick or treating in the rain – not too scary: skelie Ollie, spooky Moshi Monster Katy,
and alarming astronaut Lukas
3- proof’s
in the pudding – hey, guys, you’re messing up my story! (brave university men –
had to have been freshmen)
4-6 Aldi
creations (cherry tomato eye-balled spaghetti, disposable glove ice cube, green
grape eyeball punch – delightful!)
7- me and
Amanda in the building where she works
8-9 from this to this - you choose
10- came upon these girls in their Halloween
costumes on my way off campus – er, I mean these girls in their hockey
uniforms
