Jack o’lantern Times

♣Today is October 31st, Halloween. I have four more hours to buy candy for the trick or treaters. I wonder what creative costumes will call out at my door. Who will I see among the witches, ghosts and goblins, this evening is sure to bring? TRICK OR TREAT! Such tales the jack o’lantern could tell.

♠On a recent jaunt to Danvers, Massachusetts, I visited the the Memorial to the victims of the 1682 Witchcraft Hysteria that hit Salem Village (now the Town of Danvers). I visited the archeological dig of Reverend Parrish’s house and noted the historical marker about the Common House, where the guilty judgments were decreed. A sad history of “witchcraft in New England” but rife with gossip so we can’t put it down.

♥I much prefer to dwell on“Bewitched,” the situation comedy about the witch Samantha, who married the mortal Darrin. Her mother, Endora, did not approve of the marriage and had a habit of casting spells on Darrin, to turn him into anything from a mouse to a chair. Ultimately, Samantha would prevail upon her to undo the spell so the story could start anew the next week. 

I was always pleased when Endora made an appearance. I liked her pizzazz. 

After a long and wearisome day, I tuned into a re-run.  

Shortly after the opening credits, I fell into the television set and landed with a thud. I looked up and saw Endora, who was flipping through a magazine while levitating in Samantha and Darrin’s living room. Her eyes flickered toward my sprawled form on the carpet. 

“You’re Endora,” I gushed. 

“So I am,” she agreed.

I sat up, still looking at her. “I like your style,” I said.

Endora smirked, “What about it?”

“Your make-up, your clothes, your worldly tone, the way you wear your hair, the way you make an entrance…” I was rambling.

“An admirer!” she observed. She seemed flattered.

“How do I get out of this scene?” I asked.

She gestured with a sharp flick of her wrist, and I found myself in darkness. I didn’t hurt from my fall anymore. I could breathe and the temperature was comfortable. I fell asleep before I could notice anything else.

When I awoke, I was facing Endora as she was touching up her make-up. I couldn’t move. I stared out at her. She winked at me and continued to primp.  

The scene began shifting perspectives. In quick succession, I was looking at a wall and then a ceiling and then back down a wall and then I was facing her neck and now her face. Dazed and dizzy, the truth dawned on me.

I was in Endora’s hand mirror! With sinking dread, I wondered if I would spend the rest of my life in the mirror. 

Endora raised her eyebrow.

Suddenly, I was sitting in front of my television set, just in time to watch the show’s closing credits.

Here is Another Halloween post.

TATTOO—Journeys on My Mind

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