Happy Halloween once again to all. Thank you so much for everyone who was here with us on this 2023 thread, for both returning members and anyone new that we picked up along the way. This thread has been growing very very slowly, which is fine because I think everyone would rather have quality over quantity, and that's exactly what we have going on here.
I think I speak for almost everybody when I say that October went by entirely too fast and even today, on Halloween, our BIG DAY, it was gone in a flash. I really hope the other remaining holidays don't go by as fast, but that's probably a losing battle.
I leave you with some of my personal thoughts and reflections before I say goodbye to this thread for the final time this year and launch the new thread.
I'm a Christmas guy at heart. 75% of the time it seems like I'm always daydreaming about Christmas. But there was still another part to be filled. I figured out several years ago, thanks to
@The_Escalation, who I truly consider to be one of my best friends even though we have never met in person, that Autumn and Halloween Season was the "other" special time that filled in the void.
And how special it is. Every time I celebrate a Jack O Lantern Day, I am trying so hard to catch these magical Halloween and Autumn feelings. Nothing really comes close to the real thing, and that's a good thing. Because I think the specialness of Christmas and Halloween can be imitated, but never quite duplicated. I am so, so thankful that all of you are here to celebrate that year round love of Autumn and Halloween. So this is Mark signing off on the 2023 Halloween Thread. I will post below the link for the
*NEW* 2024 HALLOWEEN COUNTDOWN. We're off and running here in just a few minutes!