HAPPY HALLOWEEN. Halloween for me has always been tied to Harry Houdini. As a kid my two biggest heroes were Babe Ruth and Harry Houdini. Both were the best at their field, early 20th century showmen. They both gave the public what they wanted, in a time when life was hard in America and people needed escape from the everyday. They were larger than life men who helped people forget their economic hardships. I remember reading both their biographies. George Herman Ruth became the Babe, Ehrich Weiss became Harry Houdini, and I became Butch Ryan. Houdini was a man of vision, a man who dared to seek out all truths. In his day, he fought against those who preyed on the grieving, those who said they could contact the dead. He searched far and wide for the truth, not illusions. He was an escape artist, not a magician. He was a skilled physical oddity. He revealed many as frauds in a time when people believed, and often fell prey to the unknown. He stated that after his death, if there truely was a way, he'd make contact. To this day, on Halloween, contact is still trying to be made. I don't care if contact is ever made, he still lives on, like the Babe and Elvis. Guys who are known, and will always be known, by one name obviously did it right. When you make an impact you never go away, never. Happy Halloween Harry. Take care. Later, Butch