So Spooky

I'm running wild today, but I wanted to stop by and say hello. I'm spending the day in Madison Wisconsin ( Why? Well that's a secret, nosy Parker.) and then rushing back to Chicago for the big broadcast late tonight. All of this sandwiched into what promises to be a wild Halloween weekend.

We've had the compound decorated for weeks. The front yard is a collection of ghouls, skeletons, flamingo carcasses and other manner of the undead, all with the aim of scaring the bejesus out of trick-or-treaters young and old. There is nothing I enjoy more that watching a child frozen in terror on my front walk. The internal battle between giving into fear and running for their lives, is offset by the unyielding desire for candy. It's an epic battle. This year, we had an epic battle trying to decide what candy to toss in the little beggar's bags. We used to go with full sized M&M's, making us the envy of the neighborhood, and ensuring that we would not be the target of Halloween vandals. This year, after much debate, we settled on the more common "fun sized" bars. Hey, there's a recession, we all have to make sacrifices. I plan on dropping a couple of pieces in each bag, since one little bar makes you not only a cheapskate, but ground zero for egg and toilet paper onslaughts.

"Daughter" is going trick-or-treating with her friends this year, and not even in our neighborhood. I miss taking her out for a night of begging. She would walk until her feet bled, in order to accumulate more candy than she could carry. Most of the time, that candy sat in the pantry until it was tossed out to make room for the bounty delivered by the Easter Bunny. We may not have our candy driven death march, but we still took time to carve a jack-o-lantern together. Some traditions have no age limit.

Have a happy and safe Halloween. If you're up late (or early) make sure you listen to the big shows on WGN. The Fri./Sat. edition will be packed with scary surprises and will be the culmination of my being awake for 24 hours. That will be an adventure. Tonight also marks the beginning of a "nine scoop of Noonan" week on WGN. Besides my own brilliant broadcasts, I'll be doing the 2-5 am part of Steve and Johnnie's show all week. I hope you can join me. Have a great weekend. Later...Brian