Happy Halloween.

It was a small town by a small river and a small lake in a small northern part of a Midwest state. There wasn't so much wilderness around you couldn't see the town. But on the other hand there wasn't so much town you couldn't see and feel and touch and smell the wilderness.

The town was full of trees. And dry grass and dead flowers now that autumn was here. And full of fences to walk on and sidewalks to skate on and a large ravine to tumble in and yell across. And the town was full of... boys.

It was the afternoon of Halloween.
and all the houses shut against a cool wind.
The town was full of cold sunlight.
But suddenly, the day was gone...

Night came out from under each tree and spread.

~ Ray Bradbury, The Halloween Tree (not The October Country, though that's a great title too...)

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Sirens are screaming
and the fires are howling
way down in the valley tonight...

There's a man in the shadows with a gleam in his eye
And a blade shining oh so bright...

There's evil in the air and there's thunder in the sky,
and a killer's on the bloodshot streets.

Oh and down in the tunnels, where the deadly arise
you know I swear I saw a young boy down in the gutter;
He was starting to foam in the heat!

~ Meatloaf / Jim Steinman, Bat Out of Hell

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May you embrace the darkness tonight,
and understand what you're celebrating...

*It's not just about sugary treats and dressing up the dogs, you know...

Oh, baby you're the only thing in this whole world
That's pure and good and right
And wherever you are and wherever you go
There's always gonna be some light,
But I gotta get out, I gotta break out now
Before the final crack of dawn
So we gotta make the most of our one night together
When it's over, you know,
We'll both be so alone
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone when the morning comes
When the night is over, like a bat out of hell, I'll be gone, gone, gone
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone when the morning comes
But when the day is done
And the sun goes down
And the moonlight's shining through
Then like a sinner before the gates of Heaven
I'll come crawling home back to you...

~ Bat Out of Hell, again.

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ADDED: John Kelly can write, and he's a scholar:

Shelby Foote: It was because we failed to do the thing we really have a genius for, which is compromise. Americans like to think of themselves as uncompromising. Our true genius is for compromise. Our whole government's founded on it. And, it failed.

Sam Houston: Let me tell you what is coming. After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives, you may win southern independence, but I doubt it. The north is determined to preserve this union. They are not a fiery, impulsive people as you are, for they live in colder climates, but when they begin to move in a given direction, they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche.

Don't be a sore loser.
Work to understand, so that we can prevent the bloodletting tragedy that was the Civil War from occurring on our soil again?  Yes we can.
(Violence should always be the last resort, not the go-to that some pundits today would seem to prefer...)  Seek to understand complexity, it counts!