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Mountain View News Saturday, October 12, 2024


WALKING SIERRA MADRE - The Social Side 

 by Deanne Davis


“Autumn leaves are Mother Nature’s 
way of showing us that change can be

beautiful and messy at the same time.”

“October is pumpkin spice, jack-o-
lanterns, giant bags of candy, pumpkin 
pancakes, spooky decorations on 
every house. So glad we live in a world 
where there are Octobers.”

Speaking of giant bags of candy, I 
saw an article recently that stated 
that shoppers may spend less this 
Halloween. What!! Total Halloween 
spending in 2023 was a record-
breaking $12.2 billion. That’s a lot of 
Snickers bars! Anticipated spending 
on Halloween is largely devoted to 
three major categories:

 
Decorations: $3.8 billion

 
Costumes: $3.8 billion

 
Candy: $3.5 billion

Estimates for this year are a measly 
$11.6 billion. Obviously, somebody 
is not doing their share.

I, personally, have invested in two new Halloween shirts and a small led-lighted glass pumpkin. 
I’ve already got so much Fall décor that I’m sort of embarrassed to buy more. The stores have 
been Halloween-ized since August or early September and this shows that everyone is sick of 
summer and beyond ready for a change in the weather and a change in their personal scenery. 
The average person (whoever that may be) is expected to spend $103.63 on Halloween. That’s, of 
course, if they only buy candy to give to trick or treaters, not if they buy it several times because 
they ate it themselves! If I can stay away from small boxes of Dots, I’ll be OK.

“Just to make it perfectly clear: I’m only here for the treats. No tricks!”

There are so many wonderful scarecrows round about town. Creativity abounds. But you may not 
have seen these particular ladies gathered ‘round their cauldron. On a midnight cold and dreary, 
as I wandered weak and weary through dark and narrow alleyways, these…dare I say…witches… 
caught my eye. Intent on what they were doing, they dismissed my presence as “harmless.” I took 
their picture, unobserved, and recorded what they were saying in voices cracked with age and 
haunting laughter…

“Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the caldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt and toe of frog,

Wool of bat and tongue of dog,

Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting,

Lizard’s leg and howlet’s wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and caldron bubble.

Cool it with a baboon’s blood,

Then the charm is firm and good.”

I’m sure all of you recognized this delightful curse from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” and if you want 
to check out all of Shakespeare’s works, the library is available in their temporary quarters for all 
you could possibly want. But, joy of joys, friends and neighbors, ground has been broken and the 
new library is coming.

A personal note: While attending Ramona Convent in tenth grade, I slept through the class on 
“Julius Caesar.” Upon wakening, with drool running down my chin, my English teacher, Sr. Paula 
Marie, enquired sarcastically, “Nice nap, Deanne?” I was humiliated.

“When the witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and

Whispers…’tis near Halloween.”

“Halloween wraps fear in innocence, as though it were a slightly sour sweet. 

Let terror then be turned into a treat.” Nicholas Gordon

Thanks to Leah Davis, my official photographer, for all the great scarecrow photos. She has 
prowled the town ceaselessly searching for the very best scarecrows.

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis

There are treasures there! Trust me! 

Including “Just Desserts” A Fall Fantasy of Pumpkins Gone Wrong!

And all the Emma Gainsworth Adventures.

Pumpkins are so much more than mere squash.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com