Really? Already? Seriously?

I heard on the Marketplace podcast that according to American Retail Federation estimates, Americans will spend 6.9 or nearly $7 billion dollars on Halloween this year - $2.6 billion on costumes for adults, children, and pets. The rest is candy. The numbers are staggering. And to that, I say... Whhhhaaaaaaaa? (insert the proper emoticon here)

When there are so many other issues to consider like school safety, clean water, education, healthcare, acidification of our oceans, toxic algae blooms, illegal whaling, hunger and homelessness and stuff closer to home like roads, obesity and voter rights, I'm wondering if there's something else other than candy and plastic swords, harsh synthetic fibers for sexy gypsies and fake blood that we should focus on. But seriously, I'm not the party pooper... I'm all about having fun, candy and a little dress up every once in a while, but why does it have to be so extreme and for one night only.

I think the idea of dressing up in a furry costume or a sexy cheerleader or impotent zombie congressman (redundant?) from Capitol Hill is good ole American fun - and even becoming culturally adopted around the world. But why regulate all the fun to one day a year? Why not do dress up every day - Japanese style?!?!?! If we could do a beach clean up as Sailor Moon, education advocacy as Captain Jack Sparrow, water resource protection as Megatron, and volunteer service as the embodiment of the Government Shutdown (double zing!), then I'd totally be with the program all the time.

The Chinese are doing it right in terms of consuming the seasons. 10 years ago, you couldn't find the right pumpkins to carve in Beijing. Now, there are proper Jack-O-Lanterns with tea candles and fake spider webs; costumes, masks and all sorts of mascots are available for rent and purchase with Halloween being the peak for the costume season. (I don't consider the traditional dress of the Chinese as costumes, as that's just leftover wardrobe from badly made for TV dramas.) When Christmas comes around, there will be just as many Christmas trees for domestic purchase as there are mass-produced for export.

Anyway, about the posty from Wendy above, it seems like you can have a lot of fun without a party or parade on Halloween... I personally can't stand the crowds and the young people these days with their crazy costumes, crazy hair, rock music, and iTelephones... they think they have a license to go crazy on this particular night.

By now, I'm sure Wendy is finished media whoring and might be staying or at least taking her little one out to get candy... I think he's still too young. But anyway, if you're a part of that $7 billion spend, then have fun! Happy Halloween y'all. Thanks, Wendy. I got your postcard!

Get there!