Life Perspective: Reviews & More

Using a State Park for Your Next Halloween Party Kathryn E. Darden ,  Yahoo Contributor Network Last year I decided to host a birthday party on Halloween for a hobby group to honor a special guest. Because of some problems with my house due to a landslide, which is another horror story of its own, I had to find the perfect spot. I found it at a local state park! Many state parks have shelters where you can have picnics, and some of those have fire places. I reserved a shelter with two picnic tables and a fireplace and brought a couple of lawn chairs as did some of the other guests, so we had ample seating for our group. We met at 6:00 PM right as darkness fell. Our shelter was a little remote, in a small meadow surrounded by woods, so it was picturesque by day but quite spooky at night, and dark, very dark! To combat the darkness, we all brought lanterns and candles which we put around the shelter, hanging some and placing others on the tables. The fireplace also cast ...

STEAL A BASE, STEAL A TACO Taco Bell Corp. is tapping into the national pastime with a completely Outside the Bun idea: During any game of the 2008 World Series championship (the “Games”) a stolen bases means a free taco for America! Since a base was stolen, anyone can get a free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco today at Taco Bell between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (local time). So go get your free taco TODAY, America! Details at Taco Bell.

2008 Mayberry Days a Success in Spite of Rain Kathryn E. Darden ,  Yahoo Contributor Network My 2008 Mayberry Days experience was not dampened this year in spite of rains that would not go away! Hurricane Kyle was inconsiderate enough to send drizzles to Mount Airy, North Carolina, most of the day Thursday through Saturday. However, by late Saturday afternoon the rains ended, and Sunday was beautiful for our drive home. Mount Airy, North Carolina, is the childhood home of Andy Griffith, and one of the primary inspirations for the fictitious town of Mayberry. Every year the town hosts Mayberry Days during the last full weekend of September, and the picturesque town tucked into the foothills of the mountains of northern North Carolina is overrun by fans of "The Andy Griffith Show." You can't get more Americana than Mayberry Days! Mayberry Days consists of pie eating contests, checkers tournaments, Mayberry trivia contests, bluegrass music, Mayberry ...

I had another article about Mayberry Days published at this link . If you just cannot get enough information about Mayberry Days 2008 , please go take a look!

I am pleased to announce the publication of Christian Poets Pen , a new blog and zine right here on Blogger for poets who write Christian poetry or poetry from a Christian perspective. Christian Poets Pen began as a bi-monthly newsletter in the early 1990s, continued as a page on ChristianActivities.com , and now at last is a poetry blog & zine on the web! If you write Christian poetry, use the comments section at Christian Poets Pen to post a poem. If you have a tip or news of interest to Christian poets, you can also use the comments to post information. Visit Christian Poets Pen for details!

I have a Halloween poem up on Associate Content that is a different look at the ghosts which haunt us. It was an October AC challenge to write a Halloween acrostic poem and my personal challenge to write it from a Christian perspective and to avoid the usual reference to witches, vampires and other demonic elements, but keep it somewhat dark. If you would like to read it, check out my Halloween Acrostic. H   aunted by memories   A   nother cold October night   L   onely under the harvest moon   L   ooking at the ghosts of my past   O   nly the undead as my companions   W   e wander the vacant corridors   E   very memory refuses to leave   E   maciated wraiths that won't die   N   eeding my blood for their feast.

Another October 2008 AC challenge -- to write a lymerick about Obama. A Candidate Ran Named Obama Kathryn E. Darden ,  Yahoo Contributor Network A candidate ran named Obama Some said he had ties with Osama I don't know about that But I would place my bet His good looks might appeal to yo mama.

I just received a letter from one of the submitting poets asking if he could get a discount since three of his poems were published in the the Mayberry poetry book (actually, only two were published; we declined one). Don't get me wrong -- usually I am the person negotiating for a discount! However, I have had people raise eyebrows at the cost of the books before. I think shoppers are used to buying trade paperbacks with lots of pages for $7.99. They look at a book which is larger but with fewer pages and think the $12.99 price tag is high. To put things in perspective, I sent him the following note. Actually, more poems = more formatting and more pages printed = more cost to print, so the more poems I run from one person, the more they have increased my costs. That's one reason many publications charge a "reading fee" or "submission fee" for each poem submitted. The $12.95 covers the cost of compiling, editing, formatting, layout, binding, trimming, print...

I love the cooler weather October brings, the bright blue sky and the colorful falling leaves. The sight of fall leaves spinning in an October breeze always makes me want to dance with them! This is a poem in celebration of autumn and the beauty of October leaves: The Leaves of October  Oh, I want to dance with the leaves of October That merrily twirl in the air, To blend with the yellow, the reds, and the golds of them. To dance in the wind without care. And I want to run in the warm Autumn sun, Skip under the azure blue sky, To drift with the breeze among billowing leaves, Rejoicing that I am alive. So let me forget the cold chill of November While October still is with me. Too soon come the rains and the long, dreary winter nights, Too quickly laid barren the trees. Oh, I want to dance with the leaves of October Before summer's warmth must depart. Lord, let me lay hold of their red, brown, green, gold And treasure their dance in my heart...