(Sunday Paper, Volume II, Issue 41)

I know, I know.

I should have warned you about that picture there.

I didn't mean to scare your pants off.

But that's what you get with me this month.

Because, for the first time ever at the ol' Sucich house, we're decorating for Halloween.

Now, it's not like we've never decorated for Halloween.

I've told you in the past (and I'll tell you again in just a couple of weeks) about my fairly newfound talent for carving pumpkins.

And here and there we've had banners that hang outside the door that say "Happy Halloween" or "Trick or Treat".

Pretty standard fare.

We haven't really decorated for Halloween for a couple of reasons.

Partly because, unlike Christmas, Halloween decorations don't have staying power. I don't feel good about leaving Halloween decorations up past October 31, because once that holiday is gone, it's gone. At least Christmas has a season. Halloween has a day.

Also, unlike Christmas, Halloween scares the dickens out of me. (Actually, that's not necessarily true. Maybe, as I have also documented, I should say, "Like Christmas, Halloween scares the dickens out of me.")

Whether it's a child in a 'Scream' mask costume or scary things that talk when you pass them on someone's lawn or just the spookiness of dark descending earlier and earlier throughout the month of October, Halloween is a scary day for me.

But I figure in order to conquer your fear, you must face it. (Also, the girls really wanted to decorate this year.)

So we got that skeleton. It's definitely the spookiest thing we got, but it's cool because it's bendable and you can pose it however you want. So he might become kind of like our 'Elf on a Shelf' for Halloween.

We have a ghost-like thing that hangs from the ceiling. And we have some ghosty Halloween displays that poke into the lawn to give our house a spooky look. (In addition, I guess, to the rickety porch that I always mean to replace before Halloween. I mean it - it will be good as new for Halloween 2018!)

But the lawn displays are more of the friendly ghost-types than the scary ghost-types.

Because, you know, baby steps.

And I'm not putting up any Halloween lights. That's just craziness.

Writing

*Nothing new to report here. Quiet week of writing and steadily earning money. Which shouldn't be a big deal because it's what I do but it is kind of a big deal because it's a spot I've been striving to get to for a while and things are steady right now. And I'm happy about it.

Comedy

*Back to the open mics this week. Filling up the bookings for November and beyond. (Still no 2018 calendar yet! Ahhhhh!) I should also tell you this - I had a show in Bristol, New Hampshire Saturday night. And I know I often tell you how well shows go. That's because they usually go really well. I'm not bragging, I'm just reporting. Last night...well....last night did not go well. And to be honest, I'm not sure why. Maybe my fly was down? Probably not. Because this wasn't really a distracted crowd - it was more of a hostile crowd. They just did not like me. I need to look into why. (And, for the record, it didn't bother me a ton because this is definitely the aberration. Usually if I don't do well it's because of something I did - messing up a delivery or something like that. As far as I can tell, I just did not mesh with this crowd and I'm not sure why.)

What I've Been Enjoying

*Of course I've been enjoying the start to the baseball post-season, but I don't feel great about what I've really been enjoying, which is the idea that the Washington Nationals might not win a playoff series again this year. (Despite having had very good teams these past five or so years, they've never made it out of the first round of the post-season.) I told you last week - I'd much rather root for a team than against teams. But this post-season is littered with teams I don't like. And the Nationals are prime among them. I didn't used to dislike Washington so strongly. They hold a special place in my heart as the only team to have Gary Carter's retired number 8 hanging in their ballpark. And I actually like some of their players - Max Scherzer, for example. And I don't hate Bryce Harper like the majority of other baseball fans. But this is what winning does to a team, I guess - the fact that they have been on top when the Mets have been down bothers me. And I find Nats fans somewhat obnoxious. So, to keep the universe in balance...I just hope they never win a playoff series. And I only discovered this on Saturday, when I was more disappointed to see that they won Game 2, tying their series at a game apiece, than I was satisfied that they had lost Game 1. It is quite complicated.

Notes

*Are the Jets actually going to be good this year? Or, at least, not the absolute worst? Still to be determined...but the 2-2 start is certainly a pleasant surprise. Today they're actually on local TV...and of course I won't be around to watch them from the convenience of home. (I will watch the game, though, so expect them to come out flat against the lowly Browns.) I will say this - if they beat Cleveland we'll get a real taste of if they're any good next week against the Patriots. With the same record. (When again, of course, they'll be on local TV.) And if they manage to win that game....well, I'll need to start seeking out the games again.

*In the time since the last Sunday Paper, Terry Collins' tenure as manager of the Mets came to an end. I guess it was time - the writing was on the wall once this season went south that this might be it. But, as I wrote last September, Terry Collins will always hold a special place in my heart. When it comes to Mets managers in my lifetime it's hard to put anyone ahead of Davey Johnson, who led the Mets to a World Series win, but I think Terry Collins did more with less talent than anyone else could have.

*Remember, Matt Sucich is in town next Sunday. Let me know if you want to come out and see him perform - I think ticket information can be had here.

*I'm going to go ahead and put the remaining 2017 show dates on the 'Comedy Shows' link above and if new shows pop up I'll just add them in. So if you're looking to come out before the end of the year, I'd love to see you, and the dates will be there.