a true (ghost) story

Well that was a busy weekend. The best (and documented) part of Friday night was watching Alice go crazy in the ginormous gym. Until she realized how ginormous it really was and decided that it was a little too scary to go too far from me. She spent the rest of the evening following me around and repeatedly running over my toes with her chariot. But! Halloween party is finished for another year! (Have I ever told you that Chip and I are the cruise directors for our church? -Think Julie from Love Boat, sans Isaac at the bar or the Doc or Gopher- dude I loved that show on the few instances that my parents would let me stay up late enough to watch it on Saturday nights). Ahem, anyway. So let me tell you something that I need to write in large letters on my mirror: MICHAELS DOES NOT CARRY STREAMERS. JOANN DOES NOT CARRY STREAMERS. TARGET DOES NOT CARRY STREAMERS. DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT $200 DOLLARS. JUST HEAD TO PARTY CITY AND GET THE DARN STREAMERS THERE BEFORE YOU WASTE AN ENTIRE AFTERNOON RUNNING AROUND TOWN TRYING TO FIND STREAMERS. It's embarrassing to admit just how many times I've forgotten just this tidbit and found myself at Michaels, madly combing the aisles before it dawns on me. And then I head to Joann (same thing), and then Target (same thing). Oh it's just stupid.

So let's talk about something else, shall we? Like how Chip is staying tonight at a real haunted hotel? How's THAT for some serious Halloween content? The dude is out of town this week (Washington coast, and oh how I wish Alice and I could have gone with him), and tonight he's staying in a very little town. When I was talking to him today I asked him where he was staying tonight, and (no lie) he tells me the place and I'm all, "HEY THAT PLACE IS HAUNTED! I JUST SAW IT ON THE NEWS AND EVERYTHING!" And Chip's all, "Oh. I was going to tell you that Teddy Roosevelt stayed there."

I don't know about ghosts, but the poor guy is in for it tonight. He called me a couple of hours later with this:
Chip: Um, I don't know how well you're going to hear me - the cell reception is awful. But I'm here, at the hotel. And I really do believe that Teddy Roosevelt stayed here. Probably in this room. And it hasn't been changed since.
Whimsy: Oh dear. I'm so sorry.
Chip: That's actually not the scariest part. The scariest part is the fact that there is no internet. There is no cable. Actually, there is no TV at all.
Whimsy: Well, at least you'll get a lot of work done, eh?