I drove to work with a big smile on my face last night. I wasn’t acting overly happy about it being Friday. And having to scrape my windshield didn’t do much to improve my mood, either. I was chuckling about my clown wig, remembering the person who wore it 18 years ago today.

Mom was dying of cancer. She had beaten the odds over and over and over again. But there was no beating this final assault. It was Halloween and mom needed another round of chemo. I had come up from Connecticut to drive her to Wing Hospital that morning and then, if she felt well enough after, I’d take her to lunch or to the second-hand shop, whatever made her happy.

What mother wanted that day, was to bring a few smiles to the oncology department. So when I arrived, there she stood at the front door dressed as a clown. I remember the smile on her face. She was in pain, I could see that, but still she smiled. She knew, without getting my reaction, that she looked wicked silly, but I guess she needed a little “silly” in her life. She had become very, very ill and rundown. So, off we went to the hospital, an orange plastic bag full of treats and that multi-colored clown wig on her head.

Sure enough, once inside the oncology unit she got laughs from people who didn’t laugh much any more. The nurses loved it. She also got a few raised eyebrows from people who didn’t know mom was “a regular” herself in the chemo unit. It didn’t matter either way, she was making a statement about how, even in the midst of a life-threatening ordeal, we need to find time to laugh, to make the best of it and enjoy whatever time we have left and make other people happy if that were possible.

So today, as I wear mother’s clown wig and celebrate Halloween with my co-workers, I’m thinking about how much she taught me about grinning and bearing it, about how mind over matter works just as well as conventional medicine sometimes and about how making the best of a bad situation is the right thing to do when all else fails.

Those of us who live or work north of the city will again be allowed to travel over the Rt. 123 bridge in Walpole this weekend. It’s been closed ever since the original span was destroyed by the flood of 2005. For me, that will mean a much quicker trip to Bellows Falls and a five minute trek to the hardware store rather than ten. And while I’m used to going the long way around, the price of gas will undoubtedly call me into utilizing the new bridge much like the Sirens called to the sailors.

But the re-opening of the span will also mean accidents at a very dangerous intersection. We’ve become accustom to not watching for merging traffic because there hasn’t been any for three years. Will there be problems? Yes. It will take about six months before people to get back in the habit of looking left and right and then left again before proceeding.

At a cost of 2.7 million dollars I’m sure the new bridge will get plenty of use. But I’m hoping that locals who drive over it, take the time to think of what used to be there and remember those who lost their lives three years ago this month. Also as you cross the bridge, consider all the hard work and effort that has gone into rebuilding the region by those who survived. It remains an on-going process.

Did anyone see Brenda at the Drewsville General Store wearing her Halloween costume yesterday? What? That wasn’t a costume? Boy am I in trouble! In any event, Brenda is wicked-hyped about Halloween. She’s more into it than most kids.

And if there’s a recession, you can’t prove it by Halloween. More than 90% of kids will go trick-or-treating this year. Since 2005, costume sales have grown at a 22% clip, to an estimated $2.1 billion this year. (Average price per head: $39.) As for the sweet stuff, 74% of Americans will hand out candy, spending an estimated $1.8 billion, up 14% from last year.

I’m usually asleep when the ghosts and ghouls go out trick or treating. But since Halloween falls on a Friday this year, maybe I’ll take a two hour nap and get up just in time to greet the little monsters at the door. And if some young lady looks overly anxious to get her hands on my stash of goodies, I’ll have to check extra carefully to make sure it’s not Brenda under all that green gobble-dee-goop saying “I’ll get you my pretty and your little dog, too.” At that point, I’ll looked scared as adults should on Halloween and turn and say “come on Daphne, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Drewsville anymore.”

I can do most anything. I’m especially good around the house, even though I blew up a toilet with an acetylene torch back in the 80’s trying to cut off rusted-on bolts. The naval jelly wasn’t doing diddly, so I decided to get serious about installing a new toilet seat. By the time it was over, I had to install a brand new toilet, “O” ring and all. That’s one way to get a new seat. (Best seat in the house from what I’ve been told.)

In my day, I have managed to cut and install a new kitchen counter, design and cut a tile backboard and put up drywall without too much trouble. (I only wish someone had told me to let the mud dry before I applied the wallpaper!) It’s no joke that I can change a head gasket or fashion six boards into a deacon’s bench, either. I like working with my hands.

I’ve been talking to Matty about going to nursing school but now that I think about how much fun I had with the aforementioned projects, maybe I’m better suited to train as a welder or plumber. My five years of drafting experience could be put to good use. In any event, I’ve been doing this radio thing since 1973, so maybe the time has come to find a second career in life and spend the next 20 years working at whatever that might be. I’d be wicked happy running an animal shelter or a people shelter for that matter. God knows I’ve taken in enough homeless four and two legged creatures over the years.

In spite of what I do, I never intend to retire. I just plan to keep working my 60 hours a week till I fall over dead on the job. I’ve seen too many people retire only to kick the bucket shortly thereafter. Besides, if you love working, then work. And I certainly love working. It keeps me sharp and gets me out of the house.

You can write me. I’ll consider any and all suggestions at this point. But whatever you suggest, no more 3rd shift hours. Been there, done that. And BTW, thanks for reading my blogs. My first love has always been writing, so if you know of a trade that allows me to write with one hand and pound nails with the other, pass along the 411.

AP-WASHINGTON— Drug-resistant staph bacteria picked up in ordinary community settings are increasingly acquiring “superbug” powers and causing far more serious illnesses than they have in the past, doctors reported yesterday.

“They’re becoming more resistant and they’re coming into the hospitals,” where they swap gene components with other bacteria and grow even more dangerous, said Dr. Keith Klugman, an infectious disease expert at Emory University. “It’s really a major epidemic.”

The germ is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. People can carry it on their skin or in their noses with no symptoms and still infect others — the reason many hospitals isolate and test new patients to see if they harbor the bug.

But the germ can be life-threatening if it gets into the bloodstream, lungs or other organs. Pneumonia, sinus infections and even “flesh-eating” wounds due to MRSA are on the rise, doctors reported yesterday at an infectious diseases conference in Washington.

About 95,000 serious infections and 20,000 deaths due to drug-resistant staph bacteria occur in the United States each year.

I absolutely love Bonnie Hunt. She replaced Martha in the morning on ABC and I couldn’t be happier. She’s pretty and talented. She’s smart (an oncology and ER nurse), she’s a good daughter and a pet lover. What more could I ask?

I have but one complaint. She hugs too much. Every time you turn around she’s hugging someone. She hugs more people in one day than I do all year. I come from one of those homes where no one ever hugged anybody so that makes me uncomfortable.

I can’t say I was a typical child in any way. I never played with dolls (I bet a hundred bucks Bonnie Hunt had a whole room full of dolls.) Instead, I did mostly outdoor things since that’s where the kids spent a summer day once the sun came up. But I bet I can do things BH can’t. Like find shelter in a bear cave or maneuver to the other side of town through a sewer system or survive a sand pit collapse. Kids in my family had more pressing matters than playing with dolls.

If you have a chance to watch the show you won’t be disappointed. Her guest line up is excellent, she does wonderful things for charity and she honestly cares about people. And who said Hollywood couldn’t think of something new? Bonnie Hunt, weekdays on ABC at 10am.

I devote ten or fifteen minutes a day reading the obituaries of people I never met. I scan several newspapers for that purpose alone. What I’m looking for most, is a happy ending to a long, well lived life. A few weeks ago, I was amazed as I read about a 93 year old man who passed away peacefully. His neighbors probably never knew he saved dozens of children during the Nazi invasion of Poland. They may have perceived his dying as just some old fart passing away.

I am deeply saddened by those who leave us before their time. No one can find the justice in that. My cousin Danny, dying at the age of six from brain cancer would be a good example. But I seem to be okay with anyone who moves along after the age of 80; especially if they lived a productive life and seemed happy. Suicide and murder are best left for another blog.

I posted a few days ago that each man’s life touches so many others. It was a line Clarence the angel used in “It’s A Wonderful Life”, my favorite movie of all time. And it’s absolutely true. For good or bad, the ripple effect we leave behind, when we depart this place called earth, will be felt until every last person whose life we ever touched is no longer here.

I guess that’s why I read obituaries every day. I like to acknowledge people I never had the chance to meet, as having made a difference along the way. Even though they’re no longer with us, the effect of their ripple lives-on.

Photo by Matthew Suchodolski

I’m always writing about the wonderful nature pics Matty takes while he’s out kayaking. I figured you might like to see one of his best from yesterday. Somehow he manages to get the bugs to sit on his fingers. I’d be freaking out!

Matty took care of a few weatherization projects around the house yesterday then found time to go yaking after I went to bed. Sunday’s trip to Lake Warren in Alstead may have been his last for the season and that’s a big bummer seeing he’s such a good nature photographer.

After he buttoned-up the front porch, all the kittiots ran out to bask in the sun yesterday. Yoda, our most patriotic cat, posed near one of our ten American Flags. She’s such a ham.

Dandy boy Owen also loved the warmth of the porch yesterday. He’s quite the bird watcher, you know.

I still have to get some delicate plants taken care of before the snow flies. And based on the forecast, I’m running out of time. I’ll try to get in some much needed garden work later today.

I think I’ve met this woman. She reminds me of my one time next door neighbor, Mrs. Zadroga who used to shake her fist at my brother for climbing her front yard tree.

Of course, the Incredible Hulk was there, making some children cry.

Hamel, the Dark Knight was as tall as ever. Down in front, I was handing out trick-or-treat bags. I kept repeating “take one cookie only, did you hear me, just one!” Talk about a Cookie Monster!

A good time was had by all.