"Nevermore..."

This is my favorite time of year.  The air is starting to get crisper, pumpkin spice lattes are at my favorite coffee shops, the seasonal aisles are filled with bats and the like, I pick up a seasonal job at a local haunt (this year, I'm doing two - one as a scareactor two nights a week and one as an fx make up artist 3-4 times a week), and the trees around Denver turn gold. 

I remember last late September, I was walking to a docent shift at the Molly Brown House and thought, "oh my! Those oaks look pathetic! Maybe the irrigation is busted again." No.  I am in a town that has seasons for the first time in 18 years.  :)  I could tell the changing of the seasons in Orlando, but only because I lived there for so long.  Here in Denver, it's kind of blinding.  And, as a snowboarder, I am overly thrilled with the trees turning a full two weeks early and snow arriving in the high country nearly a month before the snow machines start coating the slopes.

I wonder what autumn is like in California?  I am interviewing for a position there and am hopeful.  Not only because it is a stellar position that fits right where I want to be, I feel I am qualified for this position, and I can assist in the manner that they need, but because of the location.  I have several friends in that area of California, there are areas I have dreamed of visiting since I was a pre-teen (what can I say, I'm a rocker stuck in the 80s who loves classic movies and a good cabernet), and, as I understand it, I can ride the snow in the morning and then ride the waves in the evening.  It's the best of both worlds.

Enough about California Dreaming on a chilly Colorado night, let's get back to the original subject - the season.

I love Halloween.  It's my favorite holiday.  I love everything about the haunting season.  It is the pinnacle of my love for horror entertainment.  As a matter of fact, it was the Alice Cooper episode of The Muppet Show that set me on this path to where I am today.  I remember watching it as a 4-year-old and telling mom that that was what I wanted to do when I grew up.  I wanted to BE Alice Cooper.  I'm sure it freaked her out, but I turned out ok.  I love that end of theatrics... creeping fog, bats and owls, capes and rock music, weird lighting, and so on.  I'm not so much into blood and guts.  I much prefer the spooky side of things.  Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow is my favorite scary movie, for example.  I loved The Woman in Black and get a kick out of Hocus Pocus.  Granted, I can quote most of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, but that's beside the point.  I also love reading Poe.  That brings me to an article I happened across two days ago.  It's this:

http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/poe-house-closing-leaves-a-concerned-public-puzzled/2012/09/28

The Edgar Allen Poe House in Baltimore is "nevermore."

Reading the article, I am saddened to discover the lack of funding from budget cuts.  So much so that private collectors have pulled their objects from display.  I've seen that happen before.  The end result is never pretty.  It usually results in either closure and destruction or a hostile takeover and destruction.  Here's hoping that this is the exception.  I give kudos to whomever is on staff that is continuing with the social media updates and contests.  Poe is so tightly woven into the American Halloween season that I can only speculate it took something drastic to shut them down two days before October.

So, how to save this icon?  First off, the election needs to pass and a budget settled.  As I see it, the Poe House relies on grants to stay open.  Whomever wins local, state, and federal elections concerning Greater Baltimore and museums in general I feel will be the hinge on the door that will allow it to remain open or close forever.  It appears to be at a point where ticket sales and private donations are no longer paying the bills.  Relying on grants is a bad option, but sometimes it is the only option.  I would also hope that with the Baltimore Ravens' good season so far in the NFL that there could be some cross promotion.  I remember vaguely reading a year or two ago that this happened but can't find a source to cite at present.  There should be a promotional barter deal that could be struck.  Perhaps have Poe-laced NFL merch where the museum gets a cut of the sale.  Perhaps something as simple as a fly by shot after a commercial break when the Ravens' games are televised.  Perhaps the tourist bureau could help get ad space on the Ravens' website and facebook page.  Perhaps a small ad in the Ravens' game day magazine.

I fear it may be too late.  I certainly hope not.