I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I don’t care for Halloween.

In fact, I must say that despite the beautiful, balmy conditions of this past week, I’m not very fond of October, in general, as a rule.

Autumn introduces cooler days and increasingly chilly nights. That in and of itself isn’t bad, I suppose, although I’m always cold, if you care to know it. Just sayin’.

However, October, traditionally, and in actuality, is a cold (this past week not withstanding!) hard slap in the face alerting us that winter is just around the corner.

Ugh.

Sure, when I was a little girl, winter thrilled me. In fact, the thought of snow mounds and chilly conditions were the stuff of my childhood dreams.

Particularly exciting were the times the powers-that-be (those being weathermen and women, perhaps with a school superintendent weighing in?) declared a “snow day,” because it usually meant that we didn’t have to go to school!

But now as an adult, I must say snow days are not on my list of favorite things, to be certain.

And speaking of Halloween, which we were a few moments ago and we are about to again, perhaps it’s just the Catholic school girl in me but I’m not down with a “holiday” that celebrates evil and badness in general.

Call me kooky but, BLECH on Halloween.

I mean, I just don’t understand the meaning behind giving children candy to dress up in costumes which, oftentimes, glorify evil and badness in general.

Not my jam. I’m a card-carrying God fan, what can I say? The Big Guy, his Son and the Holy Spirit are super-duper awesome and the ultimate trio in my book.

I digress.

Other reasons October is not my fave month include:

• Dying trees. Sure, the changing in the color of the leaves is dramatic, brilliant and beautiful. But it’s just a sure-fire sign that they’ll soon be falling off the trees and turned into brown, crunchy and ultimately unrecognizable versions of their former themselves.

Hmpf.

• Oktoberfest(s). I’m unsure why bratwurst and beer are the main staples of the celebration but in my book, yuck to both. And what’s up with the odd costumes and hats? I guess they’re all the rage in Germany, which, to my knowledge, is the birthplace of Oktoberfest? Eh.

• The “S” word, as my sister calls it. Yes, yes, oftentimes flurries are a part of the entire autumn extravaganza, no?

Those all are scary reasons, but there are SOME things about October that are positive.

• It’s Italian-American Heritage Month. That’s sort of a big deal to a lot of us. Seriously. Please recall that my maiden name is Marinucci, capisce?

• It is the second autumn month. This we all knew already, yes?

• National Fire Prevention Week falls during the week of Oct. 9 each year. Words cannot express how important this is to all of us. And BTW, thank you to all the firefighters who keeps us safe.

• As mentioned, it is officially autumn, which means cozy apparel, your favorite chilly weather recipes (think chili) and the afore-mentioned gorgeous foliage.

So there you have it, my Peeps. Enjoy your apples, cider and all that embodies October / fall.

Kimerer is a columnist who actually does think fall is the bomb diggity, y’all. Contact her with YOUR favorite season at pkimerer@zoominternet.net.