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Everyone knows that (as we age) time seems to accelerate past us year after year. Yet, even with that in mind, I just cannot believe that another year has come and gone and, once again, school bells ring all across America. Where does the time go?

After spending most of my first 40 years on earth living in colder climates, I've lived in southern Florida now for nearly four years. And in the past four years I've grown somewhat accustomed to the seemingly constant threat of tropical storms, the blistering sun, and the growing volume of commuter traffic.

Moving to southern Florida had always been something I wanted to do but couldn't quite manage as I finished out my career with the US government. And you know the appeal of Florida: palm trees, beaches, endless summers, and snow free winters! Who can resist, right?

All my life I had dreamed of such a tropical paradise where exotic birds call from the jungle, people sip island drinks from coconuts, and aquamarine waves roll gently onto the silky sands of a palm lined beach! And now, to some degree, I live in such a place. I should want for nothing, right?

After all, here you are (if you live in the colder climates) facing another dark winter of freezing temperatures, bitter winds, and miserable slush up to your ankles - not to mention frozen solid car doors, streaky windshields, and super dry air inside your house that makes your skin feel about as comfortable as a steel wool suit - while I anticipate the end of hurricane season and another mild winter of ice free roadways, cool temperatures, and five months of sleeping with my windows open.

Who would want to trade spaces?

I would.

You see, despite all that southern Florida offers in the way of fun under the sun, there are a few things that just are not the same in the Sunshine State.

One of those things is Halloween.

Sure, we celebrate Halloween down here, but the atmosphere just isn't the same as it is in other parts of the USA. Halloween is more like a one day affair in Florida that barely anyone notices, and most people simply tolerate. Whereas Halloween in the northeastern US seems to have grown into a mega-holiday bash on a par with Christmas.

I remember how, as a kid in Pennsylvania, I once anticipated Halloween! What kid doesn't like Halloween? After all, during what other time of the year can brats go out to beg from the neighbors all the candy bars they could possibly eat? What other time of the year could a youngster run around the familiar streets of

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