Most wonderful time of the year ...

Some people say it's the day after Thanksgiving. Others go for Tax-Free Weekend. These don't come close. So when's the best time to go shopping? Give me the days following Halloween any day. When else are stores literally trying to unload a surplus of all kinds of candy. Other post-holidays offer cheap candy, but it's generally limited in scope. Peeps on the Monday after Easter. Candy hearts on Feb. 15. Only the post-Halloween days offer candy of all kinds, even your basic Butterfingers and Crunch Bars. So find your friendly Super Wal-Mart or H.E.B. and stock up. This time comes but once a year.

And now for the semiregular Gloria Perez update. The story took an unfortunate turn the other day. The latest call came from a hospital. A children's hospital, no less, that specializes in pediatric care of life threatening injuries or illnesses. It wasn't some doctor desperately trying to get ahold of Ms. Perez about some test results. No, this was the business office, no doubt calling to settle a bill for services rendered. To be honest, I had become rather fond of the annoying phone calls and in turn, channeling that annoyance back to the mysterious Ms. Perez. That was a lot easier when I didn't think she might have been bankrupted from paying for her child's medical expenses. I mean, if you're going to leave me as your personal secretary, you should at least let me keep the joy of the position. Now, a little piece of that has been taken from me. Oh, I'll still enjoy unraveling the mystery that is Gloria Perez, I just can't enjoy being angry with her as much anymore.