Catching up

Non-Halloween related stuff. Same rules: family oriented, no flaming, be nice. ;-)
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Andybev01
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Re: Catching up

Post by Andybev01 » Wed Oct 28, 2026 7:24 pm

Murfreesboro wrote: Sat Oct 24, 2026 10:33 pm I've been having trouble with the forum the last few days. It will randomly terminate my connection. Just wanted y'all to know I'm trying to visit.
Ditto.

I'd like to think that it's people trying to access the forums because 'tis the season, but I think we all know that that's not really the problem.

I'll be going to hang out with family starting tomorrow through Sunday, keeping the spirit alive.
All you that doth my grave pass by,
As you are now so once was I,
As I am now so you must be,
Prepare for death & follow me.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Wed Oct 28, 2026 10:12 pm

I don't do FB, but I need to sign up, because another forum I had belonged to for over 20 yrs closed back in March, and the only way I could contact those women now is FB. There's just something about social media that puts me off. But I need to maintain some friendships.

Good to know that things are well with Witchy.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Wed Oct 28, 2026 10:15 pm

In case I can't get back on before Sat, happy Halloween to all!

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TheHeadlessHorseman
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Re: Catching up

Post by TheHeadlessHorseman » Fri Oct 30, 2026 1:05 am

Well, at least I know that I'm not the only person having issues with the forum, since Andy is a moderator here I'll leave it up to him to contact Chris about it.

Regarding Facebook, it's scary to think about how much personal information people there post that anybody can access at any time. Witchy has her entire profile available for anybody to read, but that's her choice. As I said before, you can make your profile private so that only your friends and family have access to it, and you don't have to put a photo of yourself there if you don't want to, so you can still have some privacy there if you want to sign up to stay in touch with your friends.

On a side note, I despise parrots that mindlessly repeat everything. I just thought that I'd mention that.

By the way, has anybody else noticed that there have been way too many celebrity deaths recently? In the past few days 2 Star Trek actors passed away, Walter Koenig and Patrick Stewart. It seems like famous people are dropping like flies lately.

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Andybev01
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Re: Catching up

Post by Andybev01 » Fri Oct 30, 2026 8:14 pm

It's as if the celebrity death 'rule of 3' is now 3.14.
All you that doth my grave pass by,
As you are now so once was I,
As I am now so you must be,
Prepare for death & follow me.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Fri Oct 30, 2026 11:16 pm

It reminds me of the late summer/early fall of 1977, when a great many celebs passed. Two of the most prominent were Elvis Presley and Bing Crosby. This sort of thing does happen from time to time, who knows why. But, yeah, it's been rough. My family is still grieving Tim Curry, and now Patrick Stewart. Of course, Dolly made a deep.impression in TN, and magazines about her all over the stores I frequent. I hope they are all happy in the hereafter.

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TheHeadlessHorseman
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Re: Catching up

Post by TheHeadlessHorseman » Wed Nov 04, 2026 1:48 pm

Is anybody else still having issues with the forum? I haven't been able to access it until today.

If this issue isn't resolved soon I might have to initiate one of my backup plans.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Wed Nov 04, 2026 11:23 pm

I don't think I've had problems since Halloween, but I haven't been checking in as often, either.

How did Phoebe's end-of-October competitions go, HH?

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Re: Catching up

Post by TheHeadlessHorseman » Thu Nov 05, 2026 2:47 am

Thanks for asking, Murf. In short, she got first place both weeks that she competed. There were some issues with Jenny on the 24th but I took care of it. I'll go into more details when the forum decides to cooperate and let me stay logged in.

How was your Halloween? Did you and your daughter get to visit any local attractions?

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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Thu Nov 05, 2026 3:48 pm

Congrats to Phoebe!

We didn't go to any Halloween attractions, mainly bc my kids' work schedules weren't conducive to it this year. Next year, when my husband is retired, perhaps he and I can do some stuff like that.

My daughter met a friend earlier in the day at a coffee shop or something, and she was attired as Morticia Addams. I mean, the dress and jewelry could have been worn any time of year, but with her hair down and some red lipstick, she really did look like Morticia. She has a necklace she wore wirh it that is strung with irridescent acrylic Gummi bears. It was seasonal and cute.

My husband grilled while I greeted the ToTers. It was a very slow night at first but then picked up around 7 pm. Also we'd done the fall festival and Trunk or Treat at church the weekend before, so I felt it was a very festive Halloween.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Andybev01 » Sat Nov 07, 2026 9:46 pm

As usual, I went to my brother's neighborhood to help hand out candy but we had exactly zero totters come to the door.

Last year was bad with only one, but none?!
All you that doth my grave pass by,
As you are now so once was I,
As I am now so you must be,
Prepare for death & follow me.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Sun Nov 08, 2026 11:04 am

Oh, what a disappointment. I really think the kids nowadays are seeking out the destination neighborhoods. Maybe 20 yrs ago, a street neighboring ours put out on FB that everyone was decorating, and boy, did they. Every yard haunt was in competition with every other house, and they did that for 15 or 20 yrs. But the pandemic killed it. Now, only a few still do it. At its peak, the police had to come and direct traffic, and we got the spill over. But now things are much quieter. I miss the excitement, but I can't blame the neighbors for getting tired of it. I'm just glad it was going on while my kids were still ToTing.

There's also lots of trunk or treating nowadays, at churches, schools, and even businesses that cater to kids. Eg, a Krav Maga place near us has one annually for its clients. These placrs aren't necessarily having their events on Halloween itself, but some parents figure enough is enough w/re/to candy collection. Maybe they take their kids to something else on Halloween, like hainted attractions. Or maybe they just stay in and watch scary movies. People are still celebrating, but it's become a season, not just a night.

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Re: Catching up

Post by TheHeadlessHorseman » Thu Nov 12, 2026 5:50 pm

Thanks Murf. :)

Alright kids, today's post is about the changes that happen in life, and learning that you just have to sit back and enjoy the ride.

This post is going to be divided again as I'm too busy to stop by regularly right now because I'm assisting in planning a funeral.
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Murf - I'm glad that each of you enjoyed Halloween in your own way.

Andy - I hope that you guys at least ate that candy. :D

We had a wild weekend. The day started early with Phoebe's tournament, she came, she saw, and she kicked a**. I'll be back eventually to tell you about the issues with Jenny. After that it was 2 straight days of fun with the kids and their friends, and the usual fun activities, trick-or-treating, a sleepover, and a few parties.

While I was out trick-or-treating with the kids in a different area, my wife said that there was a blackout here around 7pm and it lasted for about 20 minutes. She said it scared some of the younger kids that were out, but it was still a good turnout this year with over 400 kids, which is up from the last few years.

On a side note, the Great Pumpkin didn't make a appearance at our house this year and the kids didn't even notice. Of course, I still got dressed up for the neighbor's kids and they enjoyed the candy and gifts that I brought them.

Also, Phoebe only ate a small amount of her candy, and she gave the rest of it to Sam and her friends at the party. My wife and I stood there in shock while she gave away her candy. My wife turned to me and asked... who is that, and what has she done with Phoebe? :lol:

Like I said, that kid has some serious self control and discipline when it comes to her strict healty eating routine, and she's determined to stick to it. I don't know many 9 year olds that would be able to do that.

Another note, Sam has started working at the restaurant again on Sundays, and she will be doing full weekends after Phoebe is done competing for the season.

Yeah, my kids are growing up.

Oh yeah, on our way to the tournament on Halloween we saw this slime truck parked in our neighborhood.


Image
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Between this forum not cooperating, and my busy schedule last month I wasn't able to get around to posting about this.

Last month my brother told me that he passed by our father's old business and it had been demolished. I haven't been to that side of the city iin over 5 years, as I deliberately stay away from that area. I honestly don't know how I feel about this, there are so many terrible memories associated with that place, so I'm glad that it's gone. But I also wanted to eventually bring my kids there one day, though even as I sit here writing this, I legitimately don't know what I would have told them if I had brought them there.

Oh well, maybe I'll visit it when they build something new there.
____________________

A couple of days ago I heard that my old boss passed away, he was 93.

I must admit that it hurts far more than I thought it would. His name was Vincent, and in many ways he was like a surrogate father to me, and even long after he retired I still always called him boss every time that I saw him as a sign of respect.

He meant so much to me, and he taught me so much, not just about running a business, but also about life, and I don't know if I would be the person that I am today without him. Sure, I had my own moral code before I met him, but he helped the young angry version of myself that walked in here become a better person. As I said before, I met my wife here, and with her I have my beautiful kids and multiple businesses, and that probably wouldn't have happened without him and this restaurant.

The last time that he was here at the restaurant was for Sam's birthday party in July, and he was still looking as strong as ever. I mean, for a guy in his 90s. This restaurant turns 60 years old next year, and I was hoping that he would have been here for the anniversary. At least I know that his name will live on because the restaurant bears his last name. As I mentioned before, I decided to keep his name on the restaurant for a few reasons after I purchased it, one reason was because it was already established in the community, but the main reason was because I respected him.

I've been assisting his family with the funeral arrangements, and the service will be this Sun. I expect it will be a fairly large service, as he was a well known and respected member of the community.

I'm going to miss him. RIP my friend, we will meet again one day. Thank you for everything.
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Anyway, I'll be back next week. I hope that you guys enjoy Little Halloween. Stay safe and healthy my friends.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Murfreesboro » Thu Nov 12, 2026 8:18 pm

I'm sorry for your loss. But it sounds like your mentor lived a long, good life, and, assuming the promises we hear at church are true, you will indeed be meeting him again one day.

400 ToTers is overwhelming to me. In our best years here we maybe had close to 80. But back when I sometimes took my kids down to Main Street, I overheard one homeowner tell someone that they'd had 700 that night. So I know it can happen, even here. Main Street is the heart of the historic district in Murfreesboro, and the homeowners there feel.obligated to host the town. Most of their homes are antebellum, and many are reputed to be haunted. It's a neat area. The generosity of the homeowners is very much appreciated, since most of them are fairly wealthy, but they live adjacent to areas that are pretty run down and definitely not affluent. Gentrification, you know. Many of them go all out to decorate, and it's funny how fast it happens. On October 30 there is no hint of Halloween, and on Nov 1 it's all gone. It really does seem like magic.

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Re: Catching up

Post by Andybev01 » Fri Nov 13, 2026 1:03 am

Im sorry for your loss, HH.

I too had external influences the probably kept me from prison over the years.
All you that doth my grave pass by,
As you are now so once was I,
As I am now so you must be,
Prepare for death & follow me.

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