Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Guest Opinion: Water use at Southern Oregon University ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Sharing our stories ... Guest Opinion: Guns: a down-under solution? ... Guest Opinion: Water use at Southern Oregon University ... Herb Rothschild Jr.: Sharing our stories ... Guest Opinion: Guns: a down-under solution? ... ROGUES: TALES FROM THE VALLEY High spirits abound at the Halloween parade In which Dawn encounters many masked characters and things start making scents Comment By Lyda Woods DailyTidings.com By Lyda Woods Posted Nov. 10, 2014 at 1:25 PM Updated Nov 10, 2014 at 4:36 PM By Lyda Woods Posted Nov. 10, 2014 at 1:25 PM Updated Nov 10, 2014 at 4:36 PM » RELATED CONTENT • Laying out the dots, looking for connections • Talking turkey: What's in a nickname? • Squeezing psyches in the aisles at Shop’n Kart • ROGUES: Tales from the Valley: Sherry and Dawn prepare for a psychodrama weekend... • Escape from the mummy like a Marx brothers' comedy » Social News Part 8 of the fictionalized adventures of two sisters, Sherry and Dawn, one Medford-bred, the other Ashland-loving, and their adventures across the Rogue Valley. Find prior chapters at www.dailytidings.com. Today is Halloween and Sherry is still missing. Blue and I nearly got arrested when a house in Talent blew up a few days ago but Detective Mark Penny let us go. I haven’t smoked for almost a week and my nose is becoming hyper-sensitive and my mood is edgy. I needed to get out of my head. I invited Jasmine to join me downtown for the Halloween parade at 3:30. We stood in front of Wells Fargo on Main Street to watch all the revelers stream by. I saw the Clooney’s, who own a local restaurant, dressed as a silver fork and knife, toting their baby, dressed as a steak. I also saw a neon tarantula, umbrella jellyfish, a hippo and ostrich in sleek opera attire, a swamp thing, an armored ninja, a yellow brick road, a lopsided birthday cake, hordes of zombies, peacocks aplenty, big-headed monsters, the Mad Hatter and the Queen of Hearts, Winnie the Pooh, and a transgender Sonny and Cher. “This parade isn’t just for children. Halloween is about transformation, life and death, letting go, and escaping from one’s claustrophobic identity for a night,” Jasmine mused. “I’m smelling glue, wet felt, candy corn and something else,” I said. Jasmine looked at me, her face pinched. “I can’t help it. There are so many odors.” “What is going on with your nose?” “I stopped smoking.” She raised her eyebrows in a question. “Just the cancer sticks,” I answered. A beautiful black-feathered crow stared at us for a moment, his face covered by an elaborate black leather mask. He bowed to Jasmine as if he knew her. Jasmine grabbed my horse whip and said to him, “You need a spanking, gorgeous. Bend over.” He shivered in laughter and walked on. “He smelled of wet garlic and patchouli, like at the Talent house. Do you know him?” I asked. “I don’t think so. What are you talking about?” Jasmine asked “I need to follow that crow.” I jumped down off the stone ledge and dogged him through the crowd. He ducked into Martino’s and went upstairs into the bar. Jasmine and I scrambled in behind him. The place was packed with Sith Lords, bats, magicians, fairy princesses and Ebola nurses. “This is ridiculous. I’ll just ask him his name,” Jasmine announced. “No please. Let’s just watch him for a minute.” I took off my silver witch hat and slid into a small booth. “You watch him. I’m getting a Bloody Mary.” Jasmine huffed over to the bar. My heart was punching out of my chest in fear. I had no clue what I was doing. He sat at the bar and then two thoroughly-wrapped mummies joined him, a tall one dragging a shorter one. The lead mummy and crow began a heated discussion and then the timid mummy fell off its stool as if drunk. Big mummy roughly reinstalled it back on its perch. What was going on? I worked my way closer to eavesdrop on their conversation. “I am through with babysitting her,” said the mean mummy. “Just a little while longer. Then we’ll get rid of her.” “You said no violence, asshole” the mummy grunted. I was shocked to get a whiff of Sherry’s rosemary and mint lotion. “Hey, do I know you?” Jasmine pushed her way toward the crow, shaking her voodoo doll at him. Just then the crowd roared about something on the big screen TV. Timid mummy teetered off its stool and staggered out the back door towards the Bowmer Theatre. By some miracle, nobody noticed but me. I grabbed my broom and ran after her. Next week: We learn the mini-mummy's surprising identity as Dawn goes backstage at the Bowmer.    By Lyda Woods DailyTidings.com By Lyda Woods Posted Nov. 10, 2014 at 1:25 PM Updated Nov 10, 2014 at 4:36 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501