By SUSAN DROMEY HEETER, Joyful Musings

My husband and I walked to downtown Newmarket recently and basked in the joy of trick or treaters.  Local establishments handed out Starbursts and DumDums to witches and soccer players, princesses and Harry Potters.

But this morning, I muse joyfully on the best costume I spotted: a ghost made out of a pillowcase.

Two simple holes had been cut for the eyes and the pillowcase transformed into a perfect, simple ghost.  The child beneath looked entirely content and when I commented to her Dad that this was my favorite costume ever, he remarked, “Second year in a row.”

I love that.

Halloween, like a lot of life, has become overly complicated, competitive, too much. This ghost reminded me that simple is better, simple works.  I have a friend who, in 1979, drew a mole on his face and went as John Boy Walton.  Decades later I still laugh.  Less is more. 

And, as last week was a tough one, I am reminded, dear Joyful Musers, that simple is key to so much. Vote.  Call your representatives, your senators, your governors and state whatever is your truth.  Write. Write. Write. Invest in quality journalism.

As for me, I took joy in that little ghost, in those parents who allowed their child the gift of simplicity.

  I pray she grows up safe, attends school without lockdowns and gore, goes bowling with her Dad.

I muse joyfully on a pillowcase. May you put your head on one tonight knowing you’ve shared your truth, communicated with those fools who put profit before life, excuses before children.

Happy Halloween.