In November we think about giving thanks, but there are other important days on the calendar. November is election month. Our local election was on the 7th, and Republicans in Virginia took a trouncing. I will give thanks that our governor, now without any legislative support, will not get to track women’s menstrual cycles. Nor will he get his abortion ban. Democrats now control our legislature, and that is a fine thing. Voters across America realize that this election was between the party that wants to take away our rights and the party who wants all citizens to have the right to control their -own lives without governmental interference. Most Americans know that we, the people, should be in charge of what we do with our bodies and who we love, not politicians. Another - often overshadowed by the others - holiday in the November calendar is Veteran’s Day. It used to be called Armistice Day, to celebrate the end of WWI and pay homage to the many who gave their lives in that war. W
It’s the season of spookiness. The Valley started it off in style with Staunton’s Mischief and Magic weekend with Dementors abounding and Voldemort wandering the main streets. All over we’re seeing yards decorated with monsters and skeletons, bats and witches. It’s my favorite season. And my favorite genre for books and movies is gothic horror. Put me on the couch with some popcorn watching The Haunting and I’m happy. I don’t read books or watch movies about serial killers or real-life monsters. I like fiction and fantasy – imaginary terror that is pure escapism. We all know there is enough real-life horror and tragedy to escape from occasionally. And that’s why we like those moments, Halloween, Mischief and Magic weekends, classic horror stories. Unfortunately, here in Virginia, a potential real-life horror looms over us, and we need to figure out this month how to grapple with it. Because if we don’t, on November 8th, we could wake up in shock, viewing a dangerous landscape. Why? Be