Today's Opinions

“It means a lot to me when I don’t have food. Thank God. Thank You. May God bless you all.”
That is what is written on the first paper plate on a stack of other paper plates all filled out with personal messages by people who had a free meal at the Free Lunch Kitchen in Dry Ridge.
The second plate reads, “It helps with grocery bills. Also helps when I’m not feeling well. A good hot meal makes me feel better.”

In a rural area, trick-or-treat was fun, but kind of a pain.
I lived on a farm like most of my neighbors so houses weren’t that close together and running up and down streets in a subdivision was for those city kids.
We did, though, enjoy dressing up and piling into a car and begging for treats.
Buying a costume from a store was something that was unheard of. I can imagine the look on my mom’s face if I had of even suggested it. Instead, we had to use our imaginations and whatever was at hand to make our costume.

Growing up, Halloween was pretty much the same every year.
Put on that year’s costume (each year, they got less cutesy and progressively scary).
Grab a bag that my dad got from his work and hit the streets looking for good candy.
I was always picky about my candy so a lot of it would either go to my older brother or my parents.
My mom loves the Smarties while my dad enjoyed butterscotch and other hard candies.
I personally loved the taffy type of candy with some occasional chocolate.