MONSTER MASH...AND CEMETERIES

This is some surprising and very creative mail art I got yesterday, from Heinz Lotz in Germany. Thanks! I love it! If you can't tell from the photo, it is a piece of styrofoam that has jack-o-lanterns glued over, inside the original nightcrawler bait label. I took a photo of the other side too.
Lydia called today to see if I wanted to have lunch with her at the cafe. So I met here there before going to town. My mission today was to find a CD with Mathieu's new favorite song on it - Monster Mash. Amy mentioned yesterday that he had heard it on the radio, and immediately started singing it afterwards....over and over. She was going to try to find it for him, but didn't plan on going to town until Saturday. She thought it would be a great CD to have playing for my cousin's annual family and friends trick-or-treat hayride/float. I was pretty sure any CDs like that would be disappearing fast, if they hadn't already. And since we don't have many choices for shopping for things like that here in the boonies, I told her I'd go today and get it for him, if they had it at Walmart (our only choice). Alas, I was too late by far. But I did get a relatively cool Mannheim Steamroller Halloween Monster Mix CD. No funny lyrics...or any lyrics at all...but it is really enjoyable music. I think I'll borrow DH's CD player from over at the cabin and run a cord and play it outside on Halloween night. I wish I could find Saint-Saens Danse Macabre somewhere. Andrew called and I told him my dilemma and he suggested I just download Monster Mash as an MP3. I never thought of that. But I don't know how to do that... I mean, I looked for it and the sites look all spyware-ish, spammish, virusy... So.... I have Panda and all that, but...
Last night there was a really interesting show on PBS - The Cemetery Show, was the name of it, I think. I love cemeteries! Well, the older ones or ones with character, anyway. NOT the modern carpet grass, all flat, even, mow over the top tombstone types. Some towns are taking advantage of the beauty and history in their cemeteries by making them places of active learning and recreation. Brilliant! They have tours that relate the history of the place and the people buried there, tours that go into the culture and meaning of the statuary and customs of the times, plantings that people come to for photographs, such as lush daffodil parks or abundant wildflower spreads...dramatic performances, poetry readings, music of various times...lots of things, all bringing the treasures that are our cemeteries into the life of people today. I would love something like that here. Our little cemetery is getting some activity soon, since our gorgeous, huge oak tree that is in front of it is getting some recognition. (Are you reading this, Keith?) But I was appalled last spring when our thick, abundant and varied wildflowers were all mowed down WHILE THEY WERE STILL BLOOMING, before they went to seed. ARGH!!!! I've got to see who to talk to, to try to keep that from happening next year.