INSIDE
Sausage and Barley Soup page 3 The Origins of Fear page 3
How Farmers Grow Giant Pumpkins page 4
Do Kids’ Menus Do More Harm Than Good? page 2 A Word From
Kalie and Caryn page 2
October 2017
THE SEASONS — AND TIMES — HAVE CHANGED
The air is crisp, the leaves are turning bright colors, and the kids are getting into fall sports season. Russell is enjoying his last year with his football team; next year, he’ll be playing for the junior high. It’s been a great few years for him, and I know he’s going to miss his teammates when he goes. Jocelyn is also hitting the field this fall, trying her hand at soccer. It’s a new sport for her and for us. She’s the first of our children to play. So far, she’s really loving it! As for the younger kids, they’re just getting excited for candy with Halloween just around the corner! I always have fun taking the kids out on Halloween, but every year, I find it more and more remarkable how much some things have changed since my own days going door to door with a trick- or-treat bag — mostly, I think, for the good. The costumes are a pretty good example of this. We were pretty low-key about costumes back in the day, and instead of buying a whole ensemble, you usually just bought the mask and then figured out what you had around the house that went with it. While that sounds great on the surface, in practice it didn’t always work out so well. Masks really make it hard to see — especially the ones we had back then — and that’s definitely a hazard if you’re already walking around in the dark! The general attitude toward kids and safety has changed too. One of my favorite Halloweens was the time my brother
and I rode neighborhood to neighborhood with my friend and his father, who was a police officer. He drove a police van around and gave out candy to the kids in different neighborhoods. We’d all hop out when he pulled up, ring a few doorbells, get some candy of our own, and then get back in the van and head to the next neighborhood. Well, toward the end of the night, my friend’s dad took off without us! I ran back to the van and barely made it, but my brother and my friend were stranded, high and dry in a neighborhood I didn’t even know! “They’ll be fine,” my friend’s dad said. The miracle is, they were fine — and better than fine. When they got back, they had gigantic bags full of candy, because they’d hit every house on the way back home! Today, my wife and I handle the kids’ Halloween activities a little different from how it was when we were growing up. Instead of masks, our kids usually have face paint or something that doesn’t make it hard for them to see. And you can bet we aren’t dropping them off in any strange neighborhoods and letting them find their own way back! We’re a little more cautious, and the kids seem to enjoy Halloween just as much as I remember enjoying it. I hope you enjoy yours as well this year.
Happy Halloween!
– Dr. Elkins
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