Here comes the annual, regression of Halloween post: Despite recent events, I don’t wish to let it really impact the way in which I live life. That being said, I still partied for Halloween, and on actual Halloween night, I would still be a willing participant in facilitating trick-or-treaters. Incapacitated front door be damned, it was agreed that myself, Jen and Tom would hang out up front and hand out candy to the children of the neighborhood, despite the fact that many of them were predicted to be teen punks in no costume at all, just doing it for the candy. It was still tradition, that was something done when I was a kid all the way up to my sophomore year in high school, and now that I am a “grown-up” homeowner, something that I would give back to the current generation of children.
The first trick-or-treaters came around maybe 7:20-ish, but I wasn’t really paying any attention. Tom’s zombie costume did a great job of scaring most all the kids that actually did come by, made one cry, and literally made at least six kids run away, and require assistance from parents to give them courage. But the gaps in between the groups of trick-or-treaters were gigantic, and as predicted, there were a good bit of kids who simply didn’t even try; but to be fair, not nearly as much as I predicted. But despite the lazy kids / overprotective parents who drive their kids door-to-door instead of walking like it was done when I was their age, and the impressive, albeit impromptu presentation of our house, we gave candy to at most, 40 kids. By 8:45 p.m., the sounds of children were nowhere to be heard, and we closed the book on trick-or-treating for this year.
I know times have changed, the world is a little bit more paranoid and scared of everyone else, and there are legitimate psychopaths out there that do ruin it for everyone else, but I have to err on the side that there are still a good bit of decent people out there that still get in the spirit of this transitional holiday to Christmas. If Halloween and trick-or-treating becomes a thing of the past, I think I’d legitimately be sorrowful for it’s once great tradition. Waiting for the sun to set, trick or treating from 6:30 to 9:30, and walking several miles with friends, and earning an entire pillowcase full of candy. Running into peers and sharing information on where the best candies or showmanship houses were, and legitimately embracing the scary houses, costumes, and traditions of the night.
Maybe it’s where I live, where pretty much, myself included now, everyone’s home has been attempted to have been broken into at some point, but it just feels like a once-great time-honored tradition is slipping away.