Opinion: Honoring the spirits
For The Madera Tribune
The Mo-Action Blues Band from left, Frank Moschella of Friant, Paul Russell of Madera, Jim Mulligan of Coarsegold and Bill Stolp of Oakhurst bring Chicago Style Blues to The Vineyard Restaurant, 605 South I Street. The music begins Saturday at 7 p.m.
This entire weekend is a time for celebration. On Saturday at the Madera Fairgrounds, 1850 West Cleveland Avenue, locally grown produce will be feted. The Pomegranate, Fruit and Nut Festival is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Hosted by the Madera Chamber of Commerce Tourism Alliance the family friendly festival showcases the bounty that is the Central Valley. Admission and parking are both free.
Coming off the sugar high that marks Halloween on Thursday, Friday is the Day of the Dead and Saturday is All Souls Day.
The Day of the Dead is a celebration of our dead ancestors. It is primarily commemorated in Mexico and Latin American countries. The immigration of these groups of people has made it a day celebrated in this country too.
All souls day is a day to pray for the souls of the departed that those in purgatory should continue their journey to heaven. One theory is ghosts are the spirits of the dead who aren’t ready to move on because they have unfinished business in this realm of existence.
Science fiction, fantasy and horror stories attempt to explain and capitalize on what happens when we die. None of us really knows what the other side of one’s last breath will be. Paranormal investigators claim to be able to communicate with the realm of the dead. Skeptics believe that once we are dead we cease to exist and that is all there is to that.
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Also on Saturday live music returns to the Vineyard Restaurant at 7 p.m. when the Mo-Action Blues Band performs. See lead guitarist Frank Moschella of Friant, Paul Russell of Madera on harps, Jim Mulligan of Coarsegold on drums and Bill Stolp of Oakhurst, on guitar. These local musicians are bringing Chicago Style Blues to the hometown audience.
Before the night is over remember to set your clocks back one hour to observe the end of Daylight Saving Time. Changing the time makes my husband Fred more grumpy than usual. He doesn’t care which system is used he just wants it to be the same year-round. He is not alone in this desire. Many of the state’s residents agree with him.
California has attempted to abolish the twice a year seesawing of the clock to join Hawaii and Arizona as the only two states in the country not to observe the practice. A vote taken on Proposition 7 in November 2018 would have helped to eliminate the practice of changing the time. According to CBS 13 Sacramento, 60 percent of Californians voted in favor of making DST permanent.
Assemblyman Kansen Chu tweeted he will continue the campaign to keep California on the same time system year-round. He said he is going to use the time between now and the first of the year to survey his constituents to determine if the majority want to maintain DST or to change permanently to Pacific Standard Time.
On Sundays, the faithful are called to worship. This All Souls Day is the time to remember our departed loved ones. These prayers boosted by the power emanating from the churches and the religious meditations offered on this weekly holy day can make for a grand spiritual experience. Blessing to your and yours.
Long days and pleasant nights, and have a good weekend.
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Readers may contact Tami Jo Nix by emailing tamijonix@gmail.com or following @TamiJoNix on Twitter.
