I am writing this on Halloween Thursday. Boo! By the time you read it, you will know what I don’t: the results of the election.

America. An embattled nation. America. People afraid to vote. America. Seeing enemies in each other. And we’ve been at it for years. Here’s a quote from this column four years ago: “(Election Day) is a big day not only for who wins, but for what it says about us. You and me. Will we hate each other or hold out a glove-covered hand? How deeply does the fault lie in ourselves instead of the stars?”

This week the media is full of messages regarding how to keep your house and yourself safe … having a full tank of gas … what foods to hoard … how long to anticipate disruption following Election Day. What the hell?

Maybe Halloween and Election Day have become one and the same. Many of us are wearing brute costumes: Moriarty, Nurse Ratchet, Freddy Krueger, Cruella.

Meanwhile, Captain America costumes are hanging on a hook, unused. Maybe Covid drove us all a little crazy, raising base behavior out of the ooze and into our homes.

At Halloween, we used to worry about trees being T-Ped. Now maybe we should bury landmines near the patio. Uncage a wolverine. Purchase a truck so jacked-up we can’t see out of it. (Note: There has been very little advice on how to stock ice cream if the grid goes down.)

I liked it better when my concern was having a window soaped, not a ballot box set aflame. The stakes have risen this season of pranks as our population tries to vote. Nov. 5 is likely to be the real Fright Night. But you already know about that … I still have several days to ponder the outcome.

And I am exhausted by the whole thing, aren’t you? Meanwhile, I don’t want to sound like the media so think more in terms of sounding like your mother: Be careful. Have fun. If you can.

Look for “WHat Little I Know,” a collection of Linda’s Sequim Gazette articles. Find it on Amazon, wherever the Rain Shadow Artisans market is appearing, and at Pacific Mist Bookstore.