Halloween candy and the election

Published 11:06 am Thursday, November 3, 2016

I’ve got those post-Halloween blues and the pre-election jitters.

Since I’ve gotten “older” and my 21-year-old baby is no longer at the trick-or-treat age, I have to rely upon the generosity of others – co-workers – to bring in the post-Halloween goodies to share their bounty. So I was a bit disappointed Tuesday when I walked into the office and to my dismay didn’t see a pile of miniature Snickers, Twizzlers, M&Ms and Whoppers, which I understand is the personal favorite of a former EAGLE employee (insert tongue in cheek).

Not a single piece of candy was to be found.

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I searched all over the building and went from desk to desk seeking out just one piece of candy from those who have small children.

Do they not know it is the duty of parents to bring in and share the load of candy after “the good stuff” has been picked through?

So of course I “educated” them about the rules all of us “long-time” parents learned years ago. And it worked. I came in to work on Wednesday and to my glee, there was a bowl full of Halloween deliciousness in the break room.

And the stash included some of the top brands of chocolate.

But while I popped another Milk Dud in my mouth, I perused the Facebook to get the latest “news” on the presidential election and see which “friend” had turned on one another in their “debate” over the candidates we have to choose from.

Of course this friend is posting nonsense from this “unreliable news source” about the candidate he hates and this other friend is sharing another post from a different “online source” about how the candidate he can’t tolerate.

It just seems to never end and goes on and on from one side of the political spectrum to the other. And somewhere in between my Facebook newsfeed is “actual news” of ev ents regarding both candidates, although that news has not been all that good here of late for either Clinton or Trump.

I’ve been waiting for one or the other to actually talk about some of the concerns facing our nation, such as the economy, climate change, the deficit, nuclear arms, the Middle East or any number of topics other than how bad the world is going to be if you vote for their opponent.

Quite honestly, I have never been more worried about a presidential election in my life. Not worried about the low voter turnout because so many of the electorate are turned off by the candidates, but more so by which side will lose the election.

I’m afraid, and I pray I am wrong, but the aftermath of this election could turn out to be worse than the events that have lead us to this point.

But I urge all of you to eat another piece of Halloween candy, ponder your choices and go exercise your privilege to vote on Tuesday.

And be sure to set your clocks back an hour before you go to bed Saturday night.

Rob Sigler is managing editor of The Oxford
EAGLE. Contact him at rob.sigler@oxfordeagle.com.