It's a Pumpkin Spice Halloween!

 

Halloween

In the Celtic pagan tradition, All Hallows' Eve (Samhain - Oct. 31st) honors our ancestors and invites them to partake in the festivities on Halloween night. In the Christian tradition, the days following All Hallows' Eve also honor the dead: All Saints Day (Nov. 1st), and All Souls Day (Nov. 2nd). Día de los Muertos, the Mexican Day of the Dead, falls on November 2nd. In the Northern Hemisphere, colorful autumn days and cool nights gradually give way to cold, blustery winter. All life seems dead except the evergreen trees. But underneath the soil, seeds lie dormant, awaiting the first warm rays of springtime sunlight to nourish them back to life. Our loved ones may be physically gone, but they live on in our hearts. Halloween may seem like a celebration of dark forces, but in reality, it marks the dying of the old year, the inevitability of death, and a yearning for the new life ahead.

Pumpkin Spice

Pumpkin spice can be made at home by combining cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice. The aroma evokes feelings of calmness, nostalgia, happiness, and home. Warm memories of festive autumn occasions bring us closer to family and friends. Autumn colors seem more intense. The cool air feels refreshing and rejuvenating. The first snowfall dazzles us, and we gather around the fireplace, hot drinks in hand. Autumn forces us to slow down, relax, and savor the passing season. Rest, solitude, and spiritual meditation mark the season. Life is good.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Dawn Pisturino

Don't Choose Death

 

 

 

 

As a healthcare worker, I can vouch for the fact that smokers, alcoholics, and drug addicts contribute greatly to my job security.

 

And yet, despite this, I cannot condone these vices because I've seen the results of their prolonged use on the human body.

 

I've watched a number of people die slow, agonizing deaths from substance-related cirrhosis of the liver, alcoholic hepatitis, pancreatitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

 

Some of these people were over fifty years old; some of them were in their thirties or forties.

 

It may appear that some people are resistant to the effects of smoking, drinking, and using drugs. If so, they must be in the minority.

 

Substance abusers are a drain on the insurance companies, a drain on society, and a drain on themselves. The only people who benefit from their bad habits are the tobacco companies, liquor companies, and illicit drug pushers.

 

While Americans are free to make their own choices, they should be aware that they could be choosing death over life in the choices they make.

 

Dawn Pisturino

Published in The Kingman Daily Miner, September 27, 1994.

Copyright 1994-2014 Dawn Pisturino. All Rights Reserved.