There are people out there known as wordsmiths. Who are like blacksmiths, without the fire and tongs and stuff. And there are the master wordsmiths, who create words out of the bare building blocks of letters and sounds. I admire these type of people, because they create wonderful words.

There are two examples that keep going through my mind.

The Hiccupotamus

The first one comes from a book of my daughter’s, “The Hiccupotamus”. The book talks about hippopotamus who has a bad case of the hiccups. It starts out

There was a hippopotamus
Who hiccuped quite a lotamus…

And it keeps getting better from there.

And Then There’s Nash

The master grand-daddy of all word smiths is Ogden Nash, who when at loss for a rhyme in a poem, would make up word.

The lion is the king of bests
And husband of the lioness
Gazelles and things on which he feasts
Address him as your highoness

The other type of wordsmithing that Mr. Nash did was to make up words that meant something altogether different, as in the poem, “Polterguest, My Polterguest”, which talks about a houseguest bent on disrupting everyone’s life. Totally funny, and we all know people like this!

You were born an original. Don’t die a copy.

John Mason

At this time of the year in Virginia the spiders come out. And these are not the cute “eensy-weensy-spiders”. These are the spiders that are bigger than most coins with long hairy legs, big rubbery lips and six inch pincers.

OK, maybe not the lips and pincers. But these things are HUGE.

They spin webs that span the entire width of the driveway and deck, so if you venture out after dark, you WILL get caught in a sticky mess, usually across the face and hair. And then you have to wonder where the huge spider is. Is it in your hair? Crawling up your back? Waiting to wrap you up in a giant cocoon?

We also have two types of poisonous spiders here, the black widow and the brown recluse. Both of these are very dangerous spiders, but neither is particularly large.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to remember this fact when you’ve just been hit by a sticky web and there is a spider the size of a chihuahua in the vicinity.

Photo by motleypixel

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.

John F. Kennedy

I grew up in an era where cartoons contained a small amount of funny violence, and it was funny. The Coyote running off of cliffs and falling into a cloud of dust was good for a giggle, and Sylvester being mauled by dogs was a hoot.

So it’s no wonder that I’m enjoying Rayman and the Rabbid Rabbits game on the Wii. This game consists of some really ugly and gross rabbits who have captured a duck-like hero, Rayman. And Rayman must battle the bunnies by shooting them with plungers. It’s a whole lot of fun.

Did I mention you also have to fling cows in this game? The cows don’t seem to be particularly bright, but they’re pretty funny as they go flying through the air.

What can I say? I’m a product of my childhood.

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

Jim Rohn

I love Halloween. It is by far my favorite holiday, and I add to our “effect” every year. But sometimes things go wrong. Here are some lessons I have learned:

People Don’t Heed Warnings

Two years ago I added a sound-activated ghost to the decorations. It can be very startling, particularly if you don’t see it before it starts moving and moaning. It isn’t particularly sensitive, but responds to the louder-than-conversation voices people adopt in the dark. I would warn people bringing small children up to be quiet and not disturb the ghost. Few listened, and there were many tears (kids) and screams (adults). Lesson learned: some people have to learn the hard way.

An Extra In The Candy

I few years ago I dressed up as a witch to hand out candy. A last minute addition of 3-inch black fake nails completed my costume. But midway through the night I realized some of my nails weren’t there. Apparently some of the children got a bonus at my house. Lesson learned: skip the nails unless you glue them on.

Green? Sick?

Another year I went for subtle. I turned my skin green with the aid of some eyeshadow mixed with face powder. What I didn’t realize is that color fades at twilight. Instead of looking scary, I was told a few times I looked pale and sick. Lesson learned: skip the makeup when outside.

Spider Webs

Soon after we moved into our house, I put fake spider webs all over the bushes in front. We had a rainy October and the webs ended up looking like soggy lint. And it was a total mess to clean up; we had to pick it out of the branches bit by bit. Lesson learned: put webs where they won’t get wet.

All in all, the lessons stick. This year we’re adding a fog machine, and I have to wonder what the lessons from that will be. I’ve already learned not to hang the fake spiders right in front of the door. They tangle in curly hair horribly.

Photo by Niklas Hellerstedt

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

Will Rogers

I have a fondness for cinnamon donuts. Given all the choices at the local donut store, I will choose the plain old cinnamon over any other flavor every time. And it’s all rooted in a childhood memory.

I was very young, but I still remember my visits to my great-grandmother’s apartment. I’m not sure when her husband died (she died when I was four, so it must have been before that), but my step-great-grandfather was a cheerful man. He let me play with his hearing aid box, and sit on his knee, and best of all, dip bits of Trenary Toast into his coffee. These pieces of hardened bread are coated with cinnamon and sugar. They are wonderful.

Grandpa H gave me that memory, and a piece of copper he dug from the mines. I still have both today, and I think of him and the UP whenever I have a cinnamon donut.

Photo by Salim Virji

It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work, and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey.

Wendell Berry