Halloween and 10% Tuesday by Margaret Ullrich

This year Halloween was different without a dog. Paul didn't have to stay upstairs puppysitting so the kids wouldn't be frightened by a barking dog. Folks in our neighborhood keep track of the numbers we get so we'll have an idea of how much candy we'll need next year. This year we got 95 kids. Twenty-one years ago we had over 200 kids. The neighborhood is greying. Since the houses are about 1000 sq. ft. they're not too big for empty nesters.


Last Tuesday was 10% Tuesday. It was everybody's stock up day. I bumped into a few people who asked why they hadn't seen Bobo recently and I had to tell them that Bobo had passed away.


A couple we know from church met me at Sobey's. Marty likes to joke around. Last month he and Sylvia were behind me in line and Marty started yelling, "Hey, lady, move faster. I ain't got all day." I snarled back, "That's too damn bad." The poor kid at the register looked scared. Then Marty and I laughed and chatted. Guess the kid thought we had Alzheimer's.

Last Tuesday Marty said, "Hey, I saw your dog running around. I called the pound." I told him that Bobo had passed away. He went white. Guess the word hasn't spread in our parish. Marty, Sylvia and I talked about deceased dogs and parents. Their dogs had passed away when they were about Bobo's age.


We never realized how lucky we'd been with the other four. We honestly thought all dogs lived to their mid-teens.


In Safeway a neighbor came to me and said, "I haven't seen your husband in a few weeks. Is he okay?" I told Frank about Bobo. Bobo had certain routes he liked to walk with each of us so he could cover the neighborhood. Frank wasn't on my route, even though he just lives around the corner.


Last Tuesday also reminded me of Ma because I usually picked up doubles of recipe cards and sent a set to her. I don't think she ever used them, but she liked getting new ideas. Last Tuesday I only got one of each.


Life goes on.