Watching the news last night, the pictures from Hurricane Sandy were sobering.

People are suffering.

The warm winds of the storm have passed. The cold now touches the survivors. Many are without power. They huddle in flooded homes or shelter in temporary retreats. Much of what they owned is destroyed. Some wear borrowed clothes.

I worry that I have made too light of Halloween. Not all spirits are good. Not all ghosts are small and helpful.

Wind, rain and water are good. What propels them to cause such ill to so many is not good. It is bad.

This Halloween with this Hurricane, I am reminded to be be careful in what I say, to be wary in what I do, and to care for those in need.

I know that in our culture Halloween is more custom than belief. As much as anyone, I enjoy a good tale of spooks, spectres and ghosts. In such writing, in my writing, I am convicted by these events that there should be a recognition of the malevolence that is present here on our Earth. If what I have written has in any way diminished the caution we must each practice for ourselves and others, I regret those words and retract those statements.

There is a dark side, as there is a bright side. There is bad, as there is good. There are those that work to make things right, and there are those that do not. There is evil, and we must guard and fight against it. There are those who have been damaged by its touch, and those we must help.

As we pray for the safety of friends, family and neighbors damaged by this storm, let us be ever more diligent in guarding the safety of our children on this Halloween night.

Grandpa Jim