Halloween Month

Well, it's that time of year that children adore. Halloween is on it's way and already the stores are full of candy and costumes. One great thing about being older is that you can remember when things were different.

How many of you can recall those bedsheets (old ones) with eye holes cut in them. Just throw it over your head and go. I can't precisely remember any of my costumes.

We started around six o'clock when I was a child. Supper, then outside to do around to any and all houses that were in White Rock. We stayed in our area, but still had to beware people who would ruin our fun for us.

Like people who put razor blades in apples or teenagers who thought it fun to throw firecrackers at a little kid's head.

After Halloween had lost it's fun for me, and when I lived in Ottawa, it became the custom to have a big party at community centers for all the neighborhood kids. How boring I would have found it. I remember once at school when my class was having a party. A big lot of candy was just thrown on the floor and all the kids jumped in.

I was aghast at this 'animal' behavior. I vowed never to throw myself into a pile of writhing children fighting for a piece of candy. I just stood there knowing on October 31st I would get my chance at candy.

Another thing I liked was cutting a face in the pumpkin. My brother was much better at that than me and always had original faces. Mine were just triangles so  I wouldn't make a mistake. Mom never did roast the seeds though, and I think that's too bad, maybe she would have felt more included in Halloween. Instead, she thought of it as a kids thing.

Back to today. Lots of kids now go out again at Halloween and do the trick or treat thing. If I go driving with my room mate we see kids in neighborhoods going up to doors and some of the houses are really taking the scary thing seriously. Decorations and blinking eyeball skeletons.

So Halloween is not dead (or undead) and it's good to know that all sorts of children can have a ball on All Hallowed Eve.