I really like the whole Day of the Dead thing, and I think it's sweet that the Mexicans are being extra inclusive this year.

My sister bought me a little DOD figure last year. A museum shop priced item that probably would go for a quarter in Mexico, but . . . wonderful.

It's a dog, with a happy skeleton grin. She is wearing a colorful sombrero (I'm guessing it's a she from a flower on the hat) and holding a mug in her mouth.

How wonderfully humble and human and hospitable, to include deceased pets in the Day of the Dead!

You know, somebody way upstream referred to our 'orgy of mourning'. It really made me stop and think. But whether you knew someone there or not, it felt like your extended family had been cut down--like your tribe had been attacked. It may look over the top from the outside, but I don't think it is. And a gesture like the Mexicans' feels comforting to all of us.