The street plus two parking lots are filled with cars; the
wide open field is framed by rented huge blow-up jumping, crawling and climbing
apparatus. Ticket booths, face and pumpkin-painting for the little ones, plus a
pie-in-the-face for the winner of the super box-top collector complete the
suburban Harvest Festival scene with parents watching encouragingly as
children joyfully take shoes off and on,
stand patiently in line, jump and play and eat ice cream which would make my stomach
turn, but not theirs, I hope.
The difference here once again is the huge Arizona sky as
the sun sets below the distant mountain peaks, leaving streaks of pink to the west,
which slowly meld with shades of dark blue as night slowly approaches. Two policemen
stand by their open vehicle which the children are welcome to explore. They
climb in and out examining the computer, the lights and suddenly realize there
is no way to exit from the rear of the car once the doors are shut, which
surprises and frightens them a little. One boy asks the officer, “Have you ever
arrested anyone?”
“Yes, son, far away from your world I have arrested people.”
We must all be thankful for the safety and the security we have in our corner of the world and at the same
time we must be mindful of the need for others to achieve the same peace we
enjoy.
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