GEEKOLOGY 101: So...where's the beard?

So, where is my beard? Well, when you are dealing with a 4-year-old who completely hates it, it becomes a bit of a challenge to try to justify it to him.

I mean, he doesn’t really know what hockey is besides the jerseys in my closet and my Eric Lindros starting lineup figure.

So explaining to him that he has to get prickly kisses from his daddy because of a hockey lockout, well he wasn’t having any of that.

Plus, even after I shaved, Liam noticed that I had a five o’clock shadow to which he shrugged and looked a little upset.

Upon asking him what was wrong, he pointed at my face and stated, “Daddy is growing his beard again and I don’t like it”.

So, off it came. I must tell you that I feel much better with it off than with it on.

Though I am still pulling for the players, they will have to do without my beard growing prowess.

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So Halloween is just around the corner. It is amazing to me to see how much it has grown from when I was a kid.

When I was little, thousands of years ago, we went out with our brothers and sisters to the whole town and got sacks upon sacks of candy.

Granted my old hometown was a town of just under a hundred people, so allowing the kids to run around town without a parent is a little sckewed.

When I lived in Texas, you only went to your immediate neighbors and came straight home.

Plus we had more protection than the President, I think.

You just never knew in the big city what your kids would run into.

So, now I am all grown up. Well, at least, age-wise and have two little boys of my own.

Now, I live in a town that isn’t too big but isn’t too small either and have been in awe of how things have changed when it comes to allowing the kiddos out for candy begg...I mean, trick or treating.

First off, in our town, we have a haunted campground celebration. It is a great experience. My boys loved it this past weekend and the atmosphere was perfect.

The weather being incredible didn’t hurt either.

This was never an option when I was a kid and I would have loved it just the same.

Also, there is a downtown trick-or-treating event the day before Halloween.

This allows area businesses to get in on the event.

In my days, if you walked in a business with a costume on and took candy, you would be prosecuted for shoplifting.

And even on Halloween, there are a plethora of opportunities for my kids to enjoy.

We could hit all of our friends and neighbors and have a traditional Halloween event or we could leave the costumes at home and head to our church for a Highland Games demonstration from 2011 World Champion Daniel McKim.

That sounds exciting but I am afraid that my Pastor is going to try to get me on the wrong side of a Caber toss.

I just think that it is incredible the amount of different opportunities that my kids have when it comes to the Halloween season.

If only the Christmas decorations at the local retail stores would have held off until afterwards.

Gary Darling is the geekiest employee at the Maryville Daily Forum. His email is:  gdarling@maryvilledailyforum.com. Drop him a line sometime!