Greetings Enterprise-Tocsin readers!
I come to you as darkness falls and the best navigation to the perfect destination begins with imagination. And If I told you everything, you would know too much. So, relax and buckle up and enjoy the strange truth of my Halloween experience – a humble hero’s self-doubt gets a second chance. I like to call it my “Halloween Redemption.” It was Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021, the official Halloween night; however, the celebration was held the night before on Saturday Oct. 30, so there were no trick-or-treaters out. After over an hour of torment and torture in my tummy, I was haunted by a whole bucket of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and brownies from Domino’s that I fried in butter. However, as soon as I stepped foot outside of my Marie Street/Augusta location, I realized that there was a mysterious mist in the air. I walked further down the street and what looked like a large black leaf falling from a tree to the ground caught my attention. Upon closer inspection something terrifying was revealed. It wasn’t a leaf at all; instead it looked like a bat with two heads. Then the two bats broke loose and flew in separate ways, scaring the dickens out of me. I may have screamed like a woman, but I kept walking. Once making it to the 300 block of Augusta, I noticed a dog pulling back the curtains at a house, barking, pleading for help. I stood in front of the house for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what to do. I didn’t want to storm the house, kick the door down and be wrong with my intuitions and be dubbed “insane,” so I called the police, didn’t wait for the dispatcher to answer, and just hung up the phone. I walked away feeling really bad about the situation. A few days later I saw the homeowner in a wheelchair surrounded by family. I asked the group did something happen at the house on Sunday Oct. 31? One of the young women said, “Yes, my mother was putting up security lights on the back of the house and accidently fell off the ladder.” She then asked me how did I know and I replied, “The dog told me.”
That was last year and this is what happened Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022 (2 weeks ago). While walking down the 300 block of Augusta Street at about 8 p.m., I noticed the woman who had fallen last year marching to her neighbor’s, knocking on the door. I heard her say that her aunt had fallen and that she needed help getting her up. I joined a young man from next door to help pick the lady up. However, feeling that this moment was my chance of redemption for not stepping up last Halloween and being the hero, I said that I could probably pick her up by myself. Once inside I picked the lady up as if she was a baby and while holding her in my arms, proud and paralyzed, I realized that granny was heavier than I thought. I didn’t know whether to crap in my pants or go blind. I knew that holding her up took a lot of heart and a lot of help from the heavens. I was able to put this sweet lady in her bed and leave prouder than a single parent at a child’s graduation and happier than a group of 10-year-old boys throwing out Halloween candy at the Easter parade from the back of Dr. Walter Rose’s red pickup truck.
Happy Halloween and don’t forget about the “Halloween Trick or Treat Trail.” Both Sunflower County Justice Court offices in Ruleville and Indianola will be giving outs treats, as will Mario Watkins at Elite Eats inside Snap Fitness Center. Mr. Steve Rosenthal will continue over 80 years of Halloween at the Rosenthal house on Augusta Street, along with Delta Floor and Decorating, Sunflower Nutrition, Martin at Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant, South Street Pharmacy in Cleveland, Tasha at Sweet Sensation, and an all-day event at the Henry Seymour Library.
