It's October!

I don't go Trick-or-Treating anymore, so the shiny plastics and sequin cloths of the costume aisles don't interest me in the same way. I walked the lanes of Target gently perusing the costumes sealed airtight in thick plastic bags. I try to imagine myself looking spooky or festive in the costumes, but all I can see is frivolity and expense.

I know some people really devote themselves to this holiday. They plan their costume on paper, driving store to store unifying disparate pieces into one magnificently wicked disguise. I just don't have that kind of patience.

No. For me, my October pleasure is much more simple. In mid-to-late October, stores like Target realize Halloween is less than two weeks away, and they panic at the Sisyphean mound of Franken Berry, Boo Berry, and Count Chocula. As a result, the prices drop from the $3 range into the $2 range.

When the sales begin: That is when October festivities really begin. I spent $30 buying more cereal than I could carry. The 31st is for the boors. The cheap, spooky cereal...that's the holiday.