The skeleton at the beauty parlor is retiring.

I heard the news just the other day.

Maybe it’s more accurate to say that the neighbors who every year at Halloween brush off that funny, old ensemble, positioning it strategically near the sidewalk for the viewing pleasure of all passersby, is retiring.  Maybe the tradition just became too clunky and burdensome- much like the things we do in our churches when we stop understanding why we do them.

As farewell to the skeleton at the beauty parlor who has inspired me, here is the piece I wrote last year.  May your golden years be bright, whether lived out at the local dump or on another otherwise ordinary yard somewhere in downtown Atlanta.