Trick or Treat! Smell my feet. Give me something good to eat!  My kids used to say that on Halloween.  Not while out trick or treating, however. They knew that might jeopardize getting some candy in their sack. For some reason I don’t recall my trick-or-treating days as a child.  For someone who likes candy (and still does) I’m surprised the memories have faded. I do remember, though, that we were allowed to go all over the neighborhood and we didn’t need an adult to protect us from the bad guys.  There were always stories, of course. Sometimes I think kids made those up just because it was Halloween and scary stories were fun.  Like how you had to be careful if anyone gave you an apple because there might be a razor blade inside. Or if you received homemade cookies, they could be laced with poison. I wonder how many cookies were tossed aside after some sweet old lady happily baked for the neighborhood kids?

I think I quit trick or treating after my 12^th birthday. Especially after people would open the door and say “how old are you?” The one costume that comes to mind was the year I dressed like a hobo and put coffee grinds on my face for a beard.  As I walked down the trail from our house to my cousin’s place next door, our dog, Buster Brown, came after me barking and ready to bite.  He always was a stupid dog.

One year we had a party at the at the Girl Scout house on Tyler Street. We dressed in costumes and got to invite a boy.  That was probably my first date and his name was Emmett King. Emmett was always getting in trouble with the teacher (6^th grade) but I thought everything he did was very amusing.

I know I recall at least one party my kids had when they were little. We bobbed for apples in a large metal tub.  I also remember going to costume parties as an adult.  Everyone dressed up and we danced, smoked, and drank too much. One year I went to a lot of trouble making myself a long stuffed tail for my cat costume.

It’s kind of amazing how celebrating halloween has evolved over the years. Seems like it’s almost more of a holiday for the adults than it is the kids. Trick-or-treating has definitely changed. Little ones are taken downtown to go door-to-door at places of business but always with a parent.  Many organizations sponsor parties and I know the last few years I’ve had next to no doorbell ringing at my place.  Which is fine with me. I’m not keen on getting up to answer the door over and over,  and I’m not going to buy bags of candy that I know I’ll just eat myself way before Halloween even arrives.  Now I’ve taken to turning off the porch light and retiring to the back of the house to discourage (mostly teenagers) who are determined to hit as many places as they can.

               Because I read Stephen King novels (and enjoy being scared now and then) I’ve decided that the reason THREE suction cups that have fallen off the window and mirror today is because goblins are about.  One of the decorations that hit the floor (and broke!) was a pretty little hummingbird I’ve had for years.  It could just be that it’s colder and the suction cups are reacting to the glass but still…..

One of the few masks I kept through the years is the one shown above. It’s hot wearing that rubber on your face but it was always fun to open the door and scare little kids. I guess I really am a mean old witch.  Unfortunately, that mask is terribly close to how I look and feel some mornings. Happy Halloween!