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re: TulaneLSU’s Top 10 Halloween and Harvest decorations at Destin’s Lowe’s
Posted on 9/15/20 at 7:47 pm to TulaneLSU
Posted on 9/15/20 at 7:47 pm to TulaneLSU
Most stores were closing, some even boarding with plywood. Like on Pensacola Beach, this action was prompted by the weather, not by rioters, as was the case in Seattle and Portland. One store that remained open, however, was Lowe’s. Hardly another customer joined me, but I had nowhere else to wander. The weather grew increasingly furious throughout the day and a nice stroll through the aisles of Lowe’s did me well.
Not long after entering did I spot the Halloween and Harvest decorations. I smiled for the first time today, remembering that time I decorated our front yard on Prytania in 1998. I had a day off school and no one was home. Using cardboard and spray paint, I created about 25 tombstones, each with a Bible verse on them. I do not think the Apocryphal books are canonical, so none of the verses came from those seven books. I set the markers out in biblical order and waited on the front porch swing to see Mother’s expression when she arrived.
We had never before decorated the house for Halloween. We had done Harvest decorations before, usually with a pumpkin and corn theme, but never Halloween. Mother does not like Halloween and always told us to take heed around the snares of the Hallowed’s Evening. Mother taught us, “The celebration started off well and good. It was Christian, just like Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day. And then the hedonist pagans hijacked it. Sadly, some carnal lower case Christians followed.They stole these days of gratitude for our loved ones past, that great cloud of witnesses, exchanging honor, love, and memory for gore, violence, debauchery, tricks, and strumpetwear. We celebrate good and life. We will not celebrate evil and death.”
Mother, though, did let us attend haunted houses, but only if they were supervised by our youth group leader. I remember fondly going to Sheriff Foti’s haunted house in City Park. It was the best haunted house ever, and the attempt to recreate it last year at Scout Island failed miserably. Sheriff Foti’s haunting was both fun, friendly, and scary in the same sense that Morgus the Magnificent was scary. It was not demonic like that wicked, disgusting and entirely unscary haunted house by the Huey P. I also enjoyed trips to the haunted houses at the Pontchartrain Center, the Mortuary, and the JCC, or was that St. George’s.
Trick-or-treating was also tightly restricted. We were allowed to visit the homes of neighbors we knew and only those homes. An adult had to be present with us at all times. My favorite Halloween of all-time was 1992. Halloween landed on a Saturday that year, which meant it coincided with the Octavia Street Halloween party. This was, and probably still is, a good and clean family event where neighbors enjoy hospitality and laughs. I dressed as Master Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I even carried the walking stick of a wise man. Grandfather handcrafted the stick from cypress wood because “that’s the wood that saved you at the Cross.” He was indeed a wise man. I will save the details of that Halloween’s eminence for another time.
“What is this!” It was not a question. It was a demonstrative command for the tombstones to come down at once. “TulaneLSU, what have you done?” She emphasized the you in her sentence in a dispraising way that I will never forget, though I try.
“Mother, Mother, Mother, I made these signs to evangelize the lost.”
“No. You have polluted the garden. You have ruined its sanctity with these symbols of Satan, these symbols of death. Behind me, now, Petros!” When she was mad at me she sometimes called me Petros, instead of Satan, as a play on how Jesus called Peter Satan.
All that work was for naught. I quickly gathered the cardboard and put them in the garbage. I never tried to decorate for Halloween again. Even as I walk through the old neighborhood or ride the streetcar, I still yearn for a chance to change the past. I do not seek to change my action, for I believe what I did was compatible with the Gospel. I wish to change Mother’s heart, so she would allow me, like at Christmas, to decorate. Why should houses on State Street get all the publicity, with their mix of gore and trite expressions? I could have created the grandest of all Halloween displays, all with the heart of Halloween -- the Christian message of love and redemption and hope.
Not long after entering did I spot the Halloween and Harvest decorations. I smiled for the first time today, remembering that time I decorated our front yard on Prytania in 1998. I had a day off school and no one was home. Using cardboard and spray paint, I created about 25 tombstones, each with a Bible verse on them. I do not think the Apocryphal books are canonical, so none of the verses came from those seven books. I set the markers out in biblical order and waited on the front porch swing to see Mother’s expression when she arrived.
We had never before decorated the house for Halloween. We had done Harvest decorations before, usually with a pumpkin and corn theme, but never Halloween. Mother does not like Halloween and always told us to take heed around the snares of the Hallowed’s Evening. Mother taught us, “The celebration started off well and good. It was Christian, just like Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day. And then the hedonist pagans hijacked it. Sadly, some carnal lower case Christians followed.They stole these days of gratitude for our loved ones past, that great cloud of witnesses, exchanging honor, love, and memory for gore, violence, debauchery, tricks, and strumpetwear. We celebrate good and life. We will not celebrate evil and death.”
Mother, though, did let us attend haunted houses, but only if they were supervised by our youth group leader. I remember fondly going to Sheriff Foti’s haunted house in City Park. It was the best haunted house ever, and the attempt to recreate it last year at Scout Island failed miserably. Sheriff Foti’s haunting was both fun, friendly, and scary in the same sense that Morgus the Magnificent was scary. It was not demonic like that wicked, disgusting and entirely unscary haunted house by the Huey P. I also enjoyed trips to the haunted houses at the Pontchartrain Center, the Mortuary, and the JCC, or was that St. George’s.
Trick-or-treating was also tightly restricted. We were allowed to visit the homes of neighbors we knew and only those homes. An adult had to be present with us at all times. My favorite Halloween of all-time was 1992. Halloween landed on a Saturday that year, which meant it coincided with the Octavia Street Halloween party. This was, and probably still is, a good and clean family event where neighbors enjoy hospitality and laughs. I dressed as Master Splinter from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I even carried the walking stick of a wise man. Grandfather handcrafted the stick from cypress wood because “that’s the wood that saved you at the Cross.” He was indeed a wise man. I will save the details of that Halloween’s eminence for another time.
“What is this!” It was not a question. It was a demonstrative command for the tombstones to come down at once. “TulaneLSU, what have you done?” She emphasized the you in her sentence in a dispraising way that I will never forget, though I try.
“Mother, Mother, Mother, I made these signs to evangelize the lost.”
“No. You have polluted the garden. You have ruined its sanctity with these symbols of Satan, these symbols of death. Behind me, now, Petros!” When she was mad at me she sometimes called me Petros, instead of Satan, as a play on how Jesus called Peter Satan.
All that work was for naught. I quickly gathered the cardboard and put them in the garbage. I never tried to decorate for Halloween again. Even as I walk through the old neighborhood or ride the streetcar, I still yearn for a chance to change the past. I do not seek to change my action, for I believe what I did was compatible with the Gospel. I wish to change Mother’s heart, so she would allow me, like at Christmas, to decorate. Why should houses on State Street get all the publicity, with their mix of gore and trite expressions? I could have created the grandest of all Halloween displays, all with the heart of Halloween -- the Christian message of love and redemption and hope.
This post was edited on 9/15/20 at 8:30 pm
8
Posted on 9/15/20 at 7:47 pm to TulaneLSU
While I cannot decorate for Halloween, I can wander the aisles at Lowe’s and think, “What if?” Friends, I hope you will enjoy TulaneLSU’s Top 10 Halloween/Harvest decorations at Destin’s Lowe’s.
10. Giant skulls
Levitating twenty feet above me were these massive skulls that would be proportional on a twenty foot tall man. Imagine what fun this would be in your yard. As a bonus, it could serve as a decoration should you ever have a pirate’s day.
9. Spider webs
Cotton or polyester spider webs are so simple and easy, but they can turn any porch or tree or mailbox into a Halloween scene. What is the historic connection between spiders and Halloween, I do not know. But they are now intricately linked. Their webs just scream, “Halloween!”
8. Turkey
I do not know what exactly drew me to this piece. It is not particularly pretty. Its shape is not particularly interesting. But the whole of it is intriguing. When I stood staring at it, I realized that it transported me to my childhood. I looked deeply into this turkey’s eyes and found myself looking into my past. It was not one particular place in my past, but a series of memories flashing together. After fifteen minutes, or maybe it was an hour, an employee interrupted my gaze to see if I needed any help finding something.
7. Skulls and jack-o'-lanterns
While most of our peaceful, uplifting Halloween traditions come from Scotland, the jack-o-lantern comes from Ireland. The superstitious there would hollow out root vegetables. Once empty and clean, a lit candle was placed inside. The purpose, like a scarecrow, was to strike fear in the unwanted. For the Irish, it was to ward off evil spirits.
6. Tokens of gratitude
I never experienced an Autumn’s harvest on a farm. Such are the wages of living in the city. I have always wanted to farm. Watching Grandfather grow tomatoes in his small garden planted that desirous seed in my heart. One day, perhaps. Mother was supposed to buy a farm in Elberta, AL, not far from where Hurricane Sally will come ashore. But she has stalled and second guessed that decision. To work the soils with my hands and see the truth found in the parables of Jesus come to life, that is what makes the farmer’s life so appealing to me. Give thanks with a grateful heart indeed.
5. Skeletons
As most of you know, my freezer is filled with bones. Mother gets our bones from a butcher in Pensacola, usually on the way home from our cousin’s. I hope on our return in the next few days, that butcher will be open so we can purchase some more. I digress from the skeletons at Lowe’s. Who knew a hardware store had catacombs. The possibility of these plastic bones in a yard, or even indoors or in your car, are endless. If only Mother would let me decorate.
4. Pumpkin stacks
Pumpkins are as vital to Halloween celebrations are the old Time Saver Icee coupons handed out during trick-o-treating nights in New Orleans in the 90s. We usually purchased our pumpkin at the patch at First Presbyterian Church on Claiborne. The minister of that church, a reverend by the name of Clifford, I believe, was so kind and always greeted us with a great smile. When he tragically died shortly after Katrina, and the church fell into the grips of poor leadership, we stopped buying our pumpkin there. For the past few years, we have purchased them at St. Andrew’s Episcopal on Carrollton.
3. Spooky pumpkin
The colors are both autumnal and foreboding, but not too much so. When I was young, we did not have Halloween lights, but it seems lighting decorations is a new trend in Halloween fashions.
2. Spooky tree
The eyes and hands are quite anthropomorphic. Walking at dusk through the Couturie Forest in City Park, I have seen several trees that looked similar to this one. I probably would never purchase this one even if I could decorate, though, because it is so scary. Under the lights of Lowe’s it is not, but can you imagine being a child walking past this terror under the cloak of darkness?
1. Mother and son skeletons
This adorable family was stashed to the side, as though the decorators were not ready to unveil it, as we are still in September. How fashionable both the son and his mother appear together, while he escorts her, we are left to assume, to a restaurant or maybe even to church. I love the masked touch, reminding us that we are not out of the woods yet with coronavirus 2019. I would probably have Mother’s seamstress make some custom clothing that are of better materials, but I do love the period of their clothing. This piece will be the runaway winner for neighborhood decorations.
May you and your homes stay safe. I am back with Mother now, but may try a meal at Waffle House. Nothing pairs better with a hurricane than Waffle House, or so I am told.
Faith, Hope, and Love,
TulaneLSU
P.S. Lowe’s already had much of their Christmas decorations displayed. I will give you a sneak peak. I cannot wait in just weeks to meet in the streets you, my dear friends, as we will be transformed into Christmas Waits worthy of Hallmark!
10. Giant skulls
Levitating twenty feet above me were these massive skulls that would be proportional on a twenty foot tall man. Imagine what fun this would be in your yard. As a bonus, it could serve as a decoration should you ever have a pirate’s day.
9. Spider webs
Cotton or polyester spider webs are so simple and easy, but they can turn any porch or tree or mailbox into a Halloween scene. What is the historic connection between spiders and Halloween, I do not know. But they are now intricately linked. Their webs just scream, “Halloween!”
8. Turkey
I do not know what exactly drew me to this piece. It is not particularly pretty. Its shape is not particularly interesting. But the whole of it is intriguing. When I stood staring at it, I realized that it transported me to my childhood. I looked deeply into this turkey’s eyes and found myself looking into my past. It was not one particular place in my past, but a series of memories flashing together. After fifteen minutes, or maybe it was an hour, an employee interrupted my gaze to see if I needed any help finding something.
7. Skulls and jack-o'-lanterns
While most of our peaceful, uplifting Halloween traditions come from Scotland, the jack-o-lantern comes from Ireland. The superstitious there would hollow out root vegetables. Once empty and clean, a lit candle was placed inside. The purpose, like a scarecrow, was to strike fear in the unwanted. For the Irish, it was to ward off evil spirits.
6. Tokens of gratitude
I never experienced an Autumn’s harvest on a farm. Such are the wages of living in the city. I have always wanted to farm. Watching Grandfather grow tomatoes in his small garden planted that desirous seed in my heart. One day, perhaps. Mother was supposed to buy a farm in Elberta, AL, not far from where Hurricane Sally will come ashore. But she has stalled and second guessed that decision. To work the soils with my hands and see the truth found in the parables of Jesus come to life, that is what makes the farmer’s life so appealing to me. Give thanks with a grateful heart indeed.
5. Skeletons
As most of you know, my freezer is filled with bones. Mother gets our bones from a butcher in Pensacola, usually on the way home from our cousin’s. I hope on our return in the next few days, that butcher will be open so we can purchase some more. I digress from the skeletons at Lowe’s. Who knew a hardware store had catacombs. The possibility of these plastic bones in a yard, or even indoors or in your car, are endless. If only Mother would let me decorate.
4. Pumpkin stacks
Pumpkins are as vital to Halloween celebrations are the old Time Saver Icee coupons handed out during trick-o-treating nights in New Orleans in the 90s. We usually purchased our pumpkin at the patch at First Presbyterian Church on Claiborne. The minister of that church, a reverend by the name of Clifford, I believe, was so kind and always greeted us with a great smile. When he tragically died shortly after Katrina, and the church fell into the grips of poor leadership, we stopped buying our pumpkin there. For the past few years, we have purchased them at St. Andrew’s Episcopal on Carrollton.
3. Spooky pumpkin
The colors are both autumnal and foreboding, but not too much so. When I was young, we did not have Halloween lights, but it seems lighting decorations is a new trend in Halloween fashions.
2. Spooky tree
The eyes and hands are quite anthropomorphic. Walking at dusk through the Couturie Forest in City Park, I have seen several trees that looked similar to this one. I probably would never purchase this one even if I could decorate, though, because it is so scary. Under the lights of Lowe’s it is not, but can you imagine being a child walking past this terror under the cloak of darkness?
1. Mother and son skeletons
This adorable family was stashed to the side, as though the decorators were not ready to unveil it, as we are still in September. How fashionable both the son and his mother appear together, while he escorts her, we are left to assume, to a restaurant or maybe even to church. I love the masked touch, reminding us that we are not out of the woods yet with coronavirus 2019. I would probably have Mother’s seamstress make some custom clothing that are of better materials, but I do love the period of their clothing. This piece will be the runaway winner for neighborhood decorations.
May you and your homes stay safe. I am back with Mother now, but may try a meal at Waffle House. Nothing pairs better with a hurricane than Waffle House, or so I am told.
Faith, Hope, and Love,
TulaneLSU
P.S. Lowe’s already had much of their Christmas decorations displayed. I will give you a sneak peak. I cannot wait in just weeks to meet in the streets you, my dear friends, as we will be transformed into Christmas Waits worthy of Hallmark!
This post was edited on 9/15/20 at 8:05 pm
Posted on 9/15/20 at 7:58 pm to TulaneLSU
quote:
Sheriff Foti’s haunting was both fun, friendly, and scary in the same sense
Did he give you a visual body cavity search?
Foti Visual body Cavity Search Lawsuit
Posted on 9/15/20 at 8:18 pm to TulaneLSU
Posted on 9/15/20 at 8:27 pm to TulaneLSU
quote:
debauchery, tricks, and strumpetwear
Posted on 9/15/20 at 10:04 pm to TulaneLSU
TL;DR but upvote.
Posted on 9/15/20 at 11:13 pm to TulaneLSU
quote:
doit
I’ve not heard that word in a long time. Well done.
Posted on 9/15/20 at 11:20 pm to TulaneLSU
(no message)
This post was edited on 9/15/20 at 11:22 pm
Posted on 9/15/20 at 11:22 pm to TulaneLSU
quote:
The celebration started off well and good. It was Christian, just like Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day. And then the hedonist pagans hijacked it.
Excellent trolling
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