Commentary: Memories of a Halloween story lifts the spirits

Several years ago, a raging wildfire tore down Laguna Canyon on Oct. 28. University Hills was evacuated, and we spent the night in my office on campus. The fire destroyed several homes in the canyon, as well as in Laguna.

The next day we were off to Germany for an extended one-month period. I gave our house keys to my assistant and told her if anyone at the university lost their home they were welcome to use ours during our absence.

It turns out that a colleague in the Physics Department did lose his home, and he decided to stay at our place. He was there on Halloween evening when a group of small children came to the door for a treat.

He told them he was so sorry but had completely forgotten about Halloween since he was preoccupied with his tragic loss. He had no treats to offer but did wish them a happy Halloween.

The children left but returned a few minutes later. They had combined all of their treats in one bag and gave it to him and wished him a happy Halloween!

When he told me this a tear came to his eye. Happy Halloween.

HAL MOORE is a member of the Department of Chemistry at UC Irvine.