I set my alarm and got up early this morning. (Well, early for a day I don't teach classes - about 8 o'clock.) Since I'm too old to "trick-or-treat," I have to get my candy fix some other way - so I headed to Wal-Mart to buy some half-price Halloween candy.

By the time I got there (8:20 or so), all the Halloween candy in the candy aisle had already been replaced with Christmas candy. I found the leftover Halloween candy in big bins near the entrance with big signs advertising "50% OFF!!!"

I didn't get there too early. I had to thrust my way through a crowd of hefty and hungry-looking older women (the phrase "battle-axe" did come to mind) to rummage through the leftovers. One particularly aggressive lady tried to move in on the territory I had staked out. I shoulder-checked her into a display of apple cider with a muttered, "Nice try, sister" and grabbed the last bag of Milk Duds.

I'm already starting to feel the holiday spirit, and it's not even the day after Thanksgiving yet.