Music Monday Tribute to the Bay Head Halloween Parade... We Did the Mash, We Did the Monster Mash!

I'll be posting some photos from the Bay Head Halloween Parade soon, but first it's time for Roxy's Music Monday theme: Halloween! In honor of all the scary monsters, sweet bumblebees and flamingos, and creative costumes that turned out at for the annual Bay Head Halloween Parade, here's Bobby "Boris" Pickett with a spooky video of the Monster Mash:



I was working in the lab late one night
When my eyes beheld an eerie sight
For my monster from his slab began to rise
And suddenly to my surprise

He did the mash
He did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
He did the mash
It caught on in a flash
He did the mash
He did the monster mash

From my laboratory in the castle east
To the master bedroom where the vampires feast
The ghouls all came from their humble abodes
To get a jolt from my electrodes

They did the mash
They did the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They did the mash
It caught on in a flash
They did the mash
They did the monster mash

The zombies were having fun
The party had just begun
The guests included Wolf Man
Dracula and his son

The scene was rockin', all were digging the sounds
Igor on chains, backed by his baying hounds
The coffin-bangers were about to arrive
With their vocal group, "The Crypt-Kicker Five"

They played the mash
They played the monster mash
The monster mash
It was a graveyard smash
They played the mash
It caught on in a flash
They played the mash
They played the monster mash

Out from his coffin, Drac's voice did ring
Seems he was troubled by just one thing
He opened the lid and shook his fist
And said, "Whatever happened to my Transylvania twist?"

It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash
The monster mash
And it's a graveyard smash
It's now the mash
It's caught on in a flash
It's now the mash
It's now the monster mash

Now everything's cool, Drac's a part of the band
And my monster mash is the hit of the land
For you, the living, this mash was meant too
When you get to my door, tell them Boris sent you

Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash
The monster mash
And do my graveyard smash
Then you can mash
You'll catch on in a flash
Then you can mash
Then you can monster mash

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Today's the Day: Annual Halloween Parade in Bay Head, NJ

For the past few years, it feels like the annual Bay Head Halloween Parade has involved a grim weather forecast of hell and high water. Yesterday we drove down to our beach house in the pouring rain, which flooded Lake Avenue and didn't let up as we made our way to the Crab Shack to pick up 100 clams for dinner.

All week long, our little Weather Girl, Maddie, has been watching Weather.com, where just like last year, they forecast rain, rain, rain on Saturday, but sunny and 60 degrees on Sunday for the Bay Head Halloween Parade. Witches, goblins, ghosts and Disney princesses will start gathering on Mount Street in Bay Head, New Jersey, shortly after 11am for the 11:45am parade start.

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Bay Head Halloween Parade This Weekend... Wait Until You See London and Maddie!

Roxy's loyal Bay Head Blog readers know that our family takes Halloween very seriously, particularly our participation in the annual Bay Head Halloween Parade. Last year, London, Maddie, Rex and I won the "Good Sport" award for grown-ups who dress up in the best costumes and march in the parade with their kids. The photo on the right shows us in costume, from left to right: Maddie (as Sharpay "Golf" from High School Musical) Rex (as Ken), Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis, Roxy (as Barbie), and London (as Sharpay "End of Year" from High School Musical).

This year, I don't want to give too much away to the competition in advance of the event, but London and Maddie are dressing up and performing along the parade route as their girl band, the Butter Bites, and we've prepared a special "float" to march in the parade. And Rex and I will be in costume as you've never seen us before... pictures on Monday!

Mrs. Bill, Where Are You Now?

Over the long Columbus Day/Roxy's Birthday Celebration weekend, one of London's teachers gave me some homework... to provide my insights into London's reading style and abilities and any influences on her reading and writing. The "homework assignment" got me thinking back to my own childhood and the teachers who influenced my own reading and writing and made a difference in my life. Over the twenty five years since high school, I've lost contact with all of my teachers, most of whom must have retired by now... including the Freshman English teacher I'll call "Mrs. Bill." While I can't say that the assigned reading for her class really inspired me, I give Mrs. Bill credit for getting me started on a lifetime of keeping a journal... and eventually a blog, though the Internet hadn't been invented yet when I was in college... never mind high school.

In an attempt to track down Mrs. Bill, I've Googled her and tried the usual social networking sites, but I don't think many people over the age of 60 has a Facebook page! So I'm going to visit MyLife, America's #1 people search, and test out the service to see if you can find Mrs. Bill...If I find her, I'll let all of my loyal readers know what she's up to these days, and I'll be sure to thank her for influencing the writer (and mother of two readers/writers) I am today.

Music Monday: Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding by Elton John

Up north and west in the Roxiticus Valley for this rainy rainy weekend, Rex and I attended a memorial service for a dear neighbor who passed away after a long struggle with cancer. The lyrics below for Love Lies Bleeding (since Funeral for a Friend is the instrumental lead-in) really reflect the end of a love affair rather than the end of a life, but the song was stuck in my head, so here's my Music Monday pick.



The roses in the window box
Have tilted to one side
Everything about this house
Was born to grow and die

Oh it doesn't seem a year ago
To this very day
You said I'm sorry honey
If I don't change the pace
I can't face another day

And love lies bleeding in my hand
Oh it kills me to think of you with another man
I was playing rock and roll and you were just a fan
But my guitar couldn't hold you
So I split the band
Love lies bleeding in my hands

I wonder if those changes
Have left a scar on you
Like all the burning hoops of fire
That you and I passed through

You're a bluebird on a telegraph line
I hope you're happy now
Well if the wind of change comes down your way

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!

Making Plans for a Pet... or Two

It is no secret that my younger daughter, Maddie, wants a dog. For the past couple of years, she's done every school project, big or small, about dogs. At the Mendham Township Elementary School book fair last spring, Rex and I found her a huge encyclopedia of dogs and, despite its five pound coffee table book weight, Maddie carries it with her everywhere, reading out chapter and verse on different breeds and how to take care of your new puppy. When she has a chance to go online, Maddie visits all sorts of dog and pet web sites, such as Petango.com - Adopt a cat! a site which lists thousands of dogs and cats, currently cared for at reputable animal shelters across North America, who are all looking and waiting for loving homes.

Due to her older sister London's pet allergies, Rex and I have been reluctant to adopt a pet for Maddie, but after three years of "research and testing," including a doggy slumber party, with the Cock-a-poo across the street from our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, we believe that London no longer has allergic reactions to certain dog breeds. Maddie has used our zip code to look for a dog on Petango, which provides a real-time searchable database of happy, well-loved pets waiting in reputable shelters around the country for new loving homes. The pets Maddie finds on Petango are right in our own backyard. Now we just have to find one... or two... who won't make London sneeze and break out in hives...wish us luck!

Roxy's Birthday Music Monday: Turn, Turn, Turn by the Byrds

As I mentoned over on my Roxiticus Desperate Housewives blog, we're down at our beach house in Bay Head, New Jersey, celebrating my birthday with a long Columbus Day holiday weekend... London and Maddie have off from school, so it takes me back to my elementary school days, when I often had a long weekend celebration for my birthday.

I'm feeling a bit introspective this weekend, with life and death weighing on my mind after our dear neighbor in the Roxiticus Valley passed away last week. For my birthday Music Monday pick, I wanted something that would convey the depth of these emotions, but at the same time give us all an uplifting message. Back in 1959, Pete Seeger set the words of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 to music in "Turn, Turn, Turn," made popular by the Byrds in 1965.




To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to build up,a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time to love, a time to hate
A time for peace, I swear its not too late

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!