How I Spent A Month....Yesterday!

    Unbelievable! We awoke Saturday facing
no soccer games or any place we had to be!
    But, since I get bored easily, I immediately
started thinking about possible things to do
and places to go. My decision....the Discovery
Center in Binghamton, New York!
    The Discovery Center is a sort of Children's
Museum with all kinds of  "hands on" displays
and activities for the young and the young at
heart.
     You can sit in the cockpit of a jet plane, a
real fire truck and turn out gear so the kids
can play fireman, a model snack bar and all
kinds of other exhibits! There's even a
Television News and Weather set!!!!
     I figured my grand kids and one of our
nephews would enjoy a day there.
    What I didn't figure on was the Halloween
celebration they were throwing at the place
yesterday!
    I've never seen that many Spider men,
werewolves, and princesses in one place! And
I suspect there haven't been that many witches
together since the 1600's in Salem!
    We arrived just minutes before the staff, aided
by area college volunteers, started handing out
candy and all sorts of other treats! It was like
being on Times Square at Midnight on December
31st! My kids crowded into the line and got in on
the goodies!
     Of course once those treats were finally handed
out we got some breathing room and my gang got
to spend some time with just about all of the
exhibits. I sat down in the News set. That felt like
home.
   And speaking of home, flashing police and fire
engine lights cut through the dark night as we
reached the community of Hallstead. The traffic
backup made Route 11 look like rush hour in
New York City. We prayed for the victims of
whatever misfortune caused the tie up.
    Minutes later we discovered those lights were
at the head of a community Halloween Parade!
Those of us waiting were at the tail end!
    25 to 35 minutes later we had negotiated the
six tenths of a mile long main street and were
finally speeding along at a comfortable 45 miles
per hour!
    All in all it had only been a day. It just seemed
like a month!
    Hope you'll let me know when your community
is holding a parade so I can avoid it...or at least
decorate my car! Hope you'll do that...and that all
your NEWS is good!