Oct-snow-ber

October 27, 2011 — This evening I spent about an hour making screencaps of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Halloween episodes for tonight’s post, but that’s all been preempted. It’s snowing. Right now. Four days before Halloween.

We were all settled in to watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. My wife had made a batch of mulled port. All our spooky decorations were lit. It was going to be a great Halloween night.

Then Santa flew by overhead and made it snow. Suddenly it was the last scene from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Glowing orange was giving way to reflective white.

I realize there are places on this planet that are always knee-deep in snow by this time of year, but I consider those locales alternate universes. Fun science fiction, but not real. To me, snow in October is special. Heck, up until a few years ago, I thought it was impossible.

That crummy cardboard casket is a lot cooler
with the snowy backdrop.

Then I learned it sometimes happens in New England. When it does, they call it snowliage. It’s a dumb name, but we humans are often not up to describing events that are gigantic. Heck, a second world-encompassing war elicited from us a mere “World War II” moniker, like it was some mere Sylvester Stallone movie sequel.

Man, the possibilities of a snowy October are endless. Witches riding snow shovels, making snow devils in the yard, snowmen with jack-o-lantern heads, ushankas as viable costume elements.

Still, I’m hoping the snow goes away by tomorrow. I need the moment to stay rare and unique.

But please return come December.

For my Christmas cards.

Poor Rotbert.

We're jerks and don't decorate the outside of our house,
so I had to take these last ones at a neighbor's house.