OPINION; Life on the eve

As a child (as many of you know from prior columns), I loathed Halloween, probably because I was always sick with tonsillitis and then sick from the medicines used in treating tonsillitis back then. I remember standing at the kitchen window, looking out at the parades of costumed children and feeling absolutely miserable. “Smile, honey,” my mother would say. “Wave at your friends.” I thought of it as my disguise: happy girl. But it made me feel worse.

The next day, though, was one of my favorites: All Saints Day or All Souls Day. (In the Catholic tradition, they are two successive days. Protestant churches combine them, so that’s what I do!) The idea of All Souls Day is one of a special ‘spiritual communion’ between we the living and our dear departed. To me, in childhood, it represented a day of grace after a night of ghouls and ghosties who were gorging on candy I couldn’t even look at! It was a day when my three departed grandparents, I imagined, would come partway down from heaven and hover around and help me feel better. And I would swear to you that it worked!

I was thinking about all of that this morning, on Hallow’s Eve, as I sat on my front steps, and I realized that I’ve been disguised for the past 11 years as a happy homeowner when all along I had septic-system miseries. This was because when my septic system was installed in 1999, it was (ahem) “experimental.” What no one told me until last week was that after five years the experiment had been declared a failure! It has taken me all this time to find a “septic wizard” who was smart enough to know this, kind enough to tell me, and quick to come to my aid. If you have been through this and are still looking for help, don’t hesitate to contact me, so I can put you in touch with Mister Wizard.

Of course, we Commerce residents are on the eve of a crucial election. We’ve been The Town that Knows How ever since I’ve lived here, with a competent and ethical city government that kept the power on, the pot-holes filled, the money very capably managed, the city employees motivated and working hard, and the entire focus on what was best for the community.

Now we’re faced with huge changes. I have thought long and hard about this. There’s not a single candidate that I don’t like, and I’m indebted to most of them, one way or another. Plus, the library owes Tommy Stephenson a debt of gratitude it can perhaps never repay, for his dedicated work in helping obtain its state grant. Still, when I focus solely on what seems best for the community, I have to say that Clark Hill, Chris Bulls, and Mark Fitzpatrick look like the future to me – up-to-speed and ready to go -- here on the Eve of whatever comes next.

Susan Harper is retired, lives in Commerce and volunteers with the Commerce Public Library and the Jackson County Literacy Program.