Halloween is Scarier Than Ever!

    When I was growing up, admittedly eons ago in the last century, we had fun on Halloween. We'd go to haunted houses, the Halloween fair at the elementary school, giggled at seeing adults dress up giving out candy, and laughed at the creative decorations on the porches where we screamed "Trick or Treat!" At some houses, we bobbed for apples, and at others, our friends' mothers spent days making homemade treats you couldn't get any other time of year. Some people even carved their pumpkins with really outrageous faces. But they'd have only one pumpkin, not 10, nor would they cover their whole front yard in scary decorations. It wasn't like today, where many of the decorations could scare the you know what out of you. I must be getting old because I don't understand why Halloween decorations are now so frightening. Is it because our society is much scarier? 

    

    In my little town, many of my neighbors began putting up their decorations in September. And the funny thing is that few kids trick or trick in my town because a day or two before Halloween, the city sponsors a Trunk or Treat event downtown, where kids can walk or drive by with their parents to safely collect their treats. Very few kids actually go door-to-door trick-or-treating. We used to do the Trunk or Treat event, then a few years back, we stopped doing it and began giving out treats just to our neighborhood kids on Halloween. They know us, we know them, it's safe for everybody. 

    This year, I don't know if we will get that many kids because we don't have "cool" decorations. Not like some of the homes in our neighborhood. We don't have one of those 12-foot-tall, $250 skeletons or mechanical ghoul sculptures standing on our lawn, nor does fake fog rise up from a fog machine, looking like the dead will rise any moment. We don't have a skeleton dog or cat, either, or a terrifying Grim Reaper. We do have a singing vampire, though, with a motion detector that starts singing "After Midnight" when a kid walks near our door. When we got it years ago, it scared the littlest kids. These days, I doubt it could frighten a baby. But we'll put it out anyway, because we're old school and we like it, and that vampire has been with us so long he has come to be like family.

    It seems like these days Halloween has become a lot like Christmas; it's all about making a profit. I don't think it's about having fun anymore. It's just an opportunity for companies to sell as many of those giant skeletons and animated sculptures as they can. Have you ever priced any of those things? Out of curiosity, I have. Buy a few of them, (and many people have several on their front lawns) and you might as well forget about making this month's house payment. But they aren't the only ones milking the formerly fun holiday. Don't forget the candy companies that are now charging $12-$22 for a bag of candy, and the costume companies that are selling costumes starting at $40 that will be worn only once. 

    I guess I am getting old. I remember Halloween used to be fun. I'm not sure that it is any more. I can't imagine that it is for the parents and homeowners who are paying $1000+ to make their houses look scary, and buy outrageously priced costumes, and overpriced candy. Where's the fun in that?

Till next time,

Jeffree Wyn

 

        A Seat On a Plane 

    Airports have a strange way of showing the full range of humanity — joy, impatience, excitement, exhaustion, all packed into one loud, humming space.

That’s where I was on a gray Thursday afternoon, sitting near Gate 27, waiting for a flight to Chicago. I wasn’t paying much attention to anything — just scrolling through my phone and sipping an overpriced latte — until I noticed the man at the counter.

He looked like any other traveler — mid-thirties, worn denim jacket, travel backpack slung over one shoulder. But what caught my eye was the tiny girl clinging to his leg, her pink shoes dangling off the edge of the counter as she watched the planes outside.

The airline agent asked politely, “Sir, how old is your daughter?”

He smiled proudly. “She just turned two last month.”

The agent nodded, typing quickly. “Okay, does she have her own ticket?”

The man’s smile faded. “No, she’s under two. I was told she could ride free.”

The agent hesitated. “Sir… if she’s already two, she’ll need her own seat.”

You could feel the air shift. The man blinked, trying to process. “No, that can’t be right. When I booked this flight, she was still one. Her birthday was just a few weeks ago. She’s just a baby.”

The agent sighed, kind but firm. “I understand, but FAA regulations require that all passengers aged two or older have their own ticket. I’m really sorry.”

He looked down at his daughter, who was now playing with the zipper on his jacket, completely unaware that her dad’s world had just tilted. “How much is the ticket?” he asked quietly.

The agent checked. “$749, sir.”

I saw him close his eyes for a moment, the kind of pause that comes when reality hits harder than you expected. He thanked her softly and stepped away from the counter, carrying his daughter to a bench across from where I was sitting.

He set her down and took off his hat, rubbing his hands through his hair, his face pale. Then he took out his phone and made a few calls — hushed, desperate ones.

“I don’t have it right now, Mom… No, I didn’t know about the age rule… I can’t miss this flight.”

He hung up, holding his daughter close. His voice cracked as he whispered, “I’m so sorry, baby girl. We’ll figure it out, okay?”

She just giggled and patted his cheek.

That’s when a woman sitting two seats over from me stood up. She was maybe in her forties, wearing a red coat and carrying a tote bag covered in travel stickers. She walked over to him and knelt beside his bench.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly, “I overheard. You’re having trouble getting your daughter’s ticket?”

He nodded, embarrassed. “Yeah… it’s my fault. I didn’t know the rule changed once she turned two. I don’t have the money to rebook today.”

The woman smiled — the kind of smile that feels like a warm blanket. “Don’t worry about that.”

He frowned, unsure if he’d heard her right. “Ma’am?”

“Let’s get her on that plane,” she said, standing and motioning for him to follow her back to the counter.

The gate agent looked up, surprised to see them back so soon. The woman pointed toward the little girl, who was now tugging on her dad’s sleeve.

“I’d like to buy her ticket,” the woman said calmly.

The agent blinked. “Ma’am, this ticket is seven hundred and forty-nine dollars.”

The woman nodded. “That’s fine.”

The agent hesitated, almost disbelieving. “You… you know how much that is?”

“I do,” she said, pulling out her card. “And she’s worth every penny.”

Silence hung in the air for a second. Even the people in line stopped pretending not to listen. The agent took the card, swiping it with a shaky hand.

When the receipt printed, she handed it to the woman and said quietly, “You just gave me goosebumps.”

The man’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t even know your name,” he said.

She shook her head. “You don’t need to. Just pay it forward someday.”

He knelt down beside his daughter and said, “Can you say thank you, sweetheart?”

The little girl looked up with wide brown eyes and said, “Tank oo!” — her voice high and cheerful, the kind of sound that can melt even the hardest heart.

The woman smiled. “You’re very welcome, sweet girl.”

As the boarding call began, the man hugged her — not the quick, polite kind of hug, but the kind that carries the weight of gratitude words can’t hold. “You don’t know what this means,” he said through tears.

The woman smiled again, her eyes shining. “I think I do.”

She turned and walked away quietly, disappearing into the crowd.

The man boarded the plane holding his daughter’s hand, still looking back like he wanted to memorize the moment — the kindness that came out of nowhere, at the exact time he needed it most.

I never saw the woman again. I don’t even know if she ever told anyone what she did that day. But everyone at Gate 27 saw it. Everyone felt it.

And maybe that’s how kindness works — quietly, without cameras, without hashtags, without asking for anything in return.

That day, at an ordinary airport gate, I watched a stranger remind us all that compassion still exists — and that sometimes, the smallest child can carry the biggest lesson:

That love, when given freely, can move mountains… or at least, one little girl’s seat on a plane.

Credit due to Lisa Resnik

 

On the Home Stretch

    For those of you who have asked if there will be a sequel to The Wedding Dress Quilt and, if so, when, I have big news to share with you. The Mercy Quilt, aka the sequel, will be available at the end of February 2026. 

    You can preorder a copy here: https://ctpub.com/collections/fiction-and-mysteries/products/the-mercy-quilt?_pos=10&_fid=bef28bb9d&_ss=c&filter.p.m.custom.show_in_store=1

And if you are a book, library, or quilt store and you wish to order multiple copies, you can preorder now through whatever book ordering service you use, or check this page on the C&T website for a list of  distributors: https://ctpub.com/pages/retailer-info

    I am currently buried in front of my laptop reviewing the final layout of the book, looking for typos, and any other errors we don't want to see make it into the final print version or ebook. This is the very last review. If I miss anything here, well, you'll see it when you read the book. The senior editor, copy editor, and graphic designer have done an extraordinary job of finding every tiny minutiae that needs fixing. Even so, they are human, and we're dealing with machines and software here, which means things like extra spaces and extra lines slip through. I'm trying to pace myself as I have five days to finish my review and sign off on it so C&T can send it off to print. I'm also trying to keep the butterflies in my stomach from doing a major flip-flop. I'm so nervous I'll miss something! I just have to get through it as I've done with previous books. It's not like this is something new. You'd think I'd be used to this process by now. What I can tell you with great pride is how beautiful the book is, both inside and out. Yes, the cover is lovely; but the inside, which includes the font, the title pages, and special characters the graphic designer used gives the book a very special look and feel. I think you're gonna love it. 

    Till Next Time,

    Jeffree Wyn

 

Good People Exist

    Once or twice a year, folks in my little town sign up for a city-wide garage sale. It's really quite fun. We sell things we no longer want or need to people who do want or need them. Then, in a year or so, we see our items for sale at someone else's yard sale. Talk about the ultimate recycling project! And sometimes we never see our treasures again, which is kinda heartening because we know that someone is really using what we no longer can. 

    This past weekend was our city-wide garage sale, and like we've done before, we were all-in. We put everything in the garage, readying to put in the driveway first thing Saturday morning. We got up early, moved the car, blew the leaves out of the way, and moved our treasures into the driveway. We didn't have to wait long before the early shoppers descended upon us. They picked through our well-loved mugs, bowls we'd grown tired of using, knives we'd replaced, linens, a couple of stuffed toys, vases, pie plates, and other whatnot, including a beautiful, apple-red toaster oven we'd used twice. 

    We hadn't owned the toaster long when our cooktop/range went kaput a year or so ago. Our warranty company was giving us a hard time about fixing or replacing it, so as a temporary fix, we bought a countertop oven, and of course, the only place where it would fit was right where we had the lovely toaster oven. So, the toaster oven went into the laundry room, where it was used only once, because we discovered that the countertop oven was, as the saying goes, 'the best thing since sliced bread!'  There wasn't anything we couldn't make in that divine little appliance. In fact, we thought about not replacing the big cooktop/range at all, but that seemed like a silly waste of space to have a non-working appliance taking up that much room in the middle of the kitchen; eventually, we did replace it, and the lousy warranty company. By then, we loved the countertop oven so much that we couldn't see going back to using the smaller toaster oven. In the laundry room, it stayed. 

    And then came the October city-wide garage sale, and we thought it would get scooped up in the first five minutes. It did, sort of, well, yes, and no. About a half hour into the sale, a very nice lady saw it and admired every inch of it. I'd priced it at less than half of what we'd originally paid for it, which wasn't all that much, but even so, she was apparently living on a limited budget. She said she didn't have the $25 I'd marked on the price tag and wouldn't until she got paid at work on Tuesday. A lot of people in a situation like that would have asked if I could reduce the price. She didn't. Instead, she asked me, if she gave me her name and phone number, and it didn't sell, would I call her and she would come back and buy it on Tuesday. I said, of course, I would. She wrote her name and phone number on a piece of paper, and I slid it inside the toaster oven on the rack. 

    No one else took interest in the toaster oven until I saw a woman late in the day looking at it. I walked over to her and told her how it had barely been used and why we were selling it. She remarked that it was in very good condition. Then she saw the note on the rack inside.     

    "What's that?" she asked. 

    "A lady was here earlier who wanted it," I told her, "but she said she didn't have enough money today, and doesn't get paid until Tuesday. She asked me to call her if it doesn't sell, and she would come back on Tuesday and buy it then."

    The woman reached into her purse, took out $25, and handed it to me. I looked at the money and back at her. "Would you like a box for it? I've got several I saved in the garage."

    "No," she responded. "I'd like you to call that woman and tell her that she is the new owner of a toaster oven. If she could not afford to buy it until she gets paid, she must need it more than I do." 

    "Thank you," I barely spat out. "That's very generous of you." The woman simply nodded and left. I immediately called the new owner of the toaster oven, who couldn't believe that a complete stranger would do that for her. I simply said, "There are good people in this world."

    When the lady got to my house, she thanked my husband and me and said, "I have been blessed today." We could not have agreed more.