So for as long as I can remember, October has been far and away my favorite month of the year. Generally speaking you can count on perfect weather with the correct allocation of thunderstorms, deliciously long nights, and offerings of various food items containing pumpkin. (If you haven’t already detected my fondness for all things pumpkin-flavored, an upcoming post in the next few days should eliminate any remaining uncertainty on the matter.)

It’s also no secret that I’m fond of Halloween. I understand that to a certain contingent it’s no longer fashionable to enjoy Halloween, either because it’s too closely associated with spooky kids and their striped armwarmers or because, like New Year’s Eve, it brings out the loudest, drinkingest assholes any city has to offer. But fuck all that, I’ve loved Halloween since I was a wriggly little rugrat, and I fully expect to be lobotomizing gourds and stringing orange lights around my place of dwelling until my inevitably horrifying death.

But despite all of that, I haven’t really been feeling October much this year. I’m sure the murderously sticky mid-July weather through which we suffered until just a couple of days ago had something to do with it, and it certainly looks like I’m not the only one afflicted with Halloween malaise. It’s more than a little depressing to see these precious few weeks zooming by unappreciated, but luckily the temperature has finally begun to cooperate and I’ve been making a concerted effort to enjoy it. I think this weekend I’ll have to make a point of settling in with some pumpkin ice cream and a stack of horror movies to seal the deal, but if anyone else has some suggestions for the next few days I’m all ears.