It is funny what you remember

most about something. This last Hauntcon, as usual, was a great event and we had a blast, learned a lot, visited with friends and made new ones. Always a great experience that I look forward to every year. And every year I walk away with something different and valuable in some way.

This year one particular conversation with Leonard comes to mind over and over. He probably would not even remember that he said this to me....

We were walking up to one of the rides out in The Dells, and I was commenting on family and how things have changed with us and the haunt and he reminded me that these people.....these haunters are my "family". I had never really thought of it that way, but I suppose it is true, we all have the same disease of thinking of Halloween 365 days a year. And I do like most of them a lot more than some of my family.....I know that they like me a lot more than most of my family.

My family, to their defense, would quickly add that that is the case because they (the haunters) don't know me that well. :D Fair enough, there is something to be said for history.

I was again reminded about my haunt "family" this last few days when we were asked to submit an article for the upcoming Haunted Attraction Magazine as their featured "Home Haunter". Despite my many attempts and appeals to both Leonard and John that there are FAR better home haunters out there than ours....John finally convinced us to give in and be featured.

Then the problem of writing an article about us and Davis Graveyard. I can write (or blog) about that display all day.....but writing about "us" was a lot harder than we thought. We worked on it and ignored it....then worked on it....and ignored it until we were down to the wire.

We turned the dreadful draft into John telling him that this was in "no way" ready for publication. It did not take a second read for him to agree. But we waited too long and he needs the article for the magazine....NOW.

Once again, in steps Leonard Pickel. He is going to write our article. Wow, do I feel special or what? So, he talks to Jeff for a while and then calls one night while Jeff is out and talks to me. Brings up all kinds of old memories from our haunting past and helps us clarify who we are and why we do what we do. He tells me that he will send me the article that night, and if we could get back to him that same night, perfect.

At this point I look at my clock and see the time and know that he is several hours ahead of us. Does this man sleep?!?! So we are ready to stay up and wait for the email. We read it and are completely blown away. Wow, he made us sound important and interesting and all those other things I didn't know I could be. We made a few changes sent it back and husband went to bed.

I stayed up and worked on a few things for my day job and got a couple very funny and sincerely nice emails from Leonard. Not, "hi guys, nice to see you at the convention" type stuff...more like a friend. Wow, once again, I cannot tell you how great of a guy he is.

Funny, on that same weekend, someone in my family let me down again......I guess it is that "when one door closes" saying in this case. The more distant my family gets the closer I have become to all my friends and neighbors that help with the haunt and all my friends I know from the conventions. So there is technically not a void.....but it does feel different. I think I am figuring out that this "different" might be a good thing.