“But I love Halloween, and I love that feeling: the cold air, the spooky dangers lurking around the corner.”
It happened: my Red Sox won the World Series last night in splendid fashion. They led the whole game. I, however, still had clenched teeth until that last out at the top of the ninth. I was so excited I stayed up until after two and watched all the festivities. How could I not? It was spectacular.
The morning was sunny, lovely and warm but since then the sun has been replaced by clouds, and the day is getting darker. I don’t mind. Halloween should be dark and even a bit scary.
I can remember the Halloween excitement from the moment I woke up and remembered what day it was. Having to sit in school for so long was pure torture. At lunch and recess all we talked about was what we were going as. It was never what we were wearing. It was always what we were going as. We were, for one night, witches or ghosts or pirates. I can remember hounding my mother to let us start trick or treating as soon as it got dark. She always said it was too early. We’d look out the picture window hoping to see a trick or treater, a sign it was finally time. Some years my brother and I would go together. We were adventurous spirits who would roam all over town. I can still see in my mind’s eye the sidewalk covered with yellow leaves and here and there bright circles of light from the street lamps. The houses always had their porch lights on as invitations for us to stop. Those were the days of small trick or treat bags filled with individual candies. The lady, never a man, would come to the door, open it a bit and give us a bag from the pile on the table beside the door. If it was a neighbor, she’d try to guess who we were. It was never really very difficult, but the best neighbors always pretended it was. We’d finish the neighborhood then branch out to streets around where we lived then we’d even go further afield. I remember a house where we once got an apple, never a favorite treat, but it had a nickel pushed into the skin as the real surprise. Sometimes the candy bags had a penny or two, and back then pennies still had great value. As the night wore on, we’d see fewer and fewer trick or treaters and fewer lit houses. We knew then it was time to head home.
The haul was always important, but the best part of Halloween was being out at night when the shadows of bare branches looked like hands reaching out to grab us and when we’d hear footsteps behind us and be a little afraid to look. We sometimes scared each other, and I remember laughing while my heart raced just a bit from the fright.
We always walked home slowly making the night last as long as we could.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: costumes, darkening day, getting dark, going as, Halloween, house lights, porch lights, racing hearts, Red Sox, scaring each other, school torture, trick or treat bags, Trick-or-treating, yellow leaves
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October 31, 2013 at 12:23 pm
Congratulations to the Sox
The Prince is cruising the neighborhood either as a cowboy or a 7 year old axe murderer. His Pumpa would prefer the former.
The weather here is just plain awful, slinging it down with rain and the winds picking up towards a promised 50 mph at candy time. Maggie the Westie will be confined to her boudoir as so many visitors is just too much for her.
May all you little loved ones have a great evening
October 31, 2013 at 12:52 pm
Thank you, My Dear Hedley.
I’m with you on the cowboy for the Prince.
There is also a possibility of rain here and the day doesn’t look all that promising. I remember the year my sister in Colorado got a foot of snow on Halloween so I always think rain isn’t all that bad.
I also wish the best of evenings for the young Prince, an evening without him hoisting a single axe.
October 31, 2013 at 2:00 pm
Perhaps our most famous Halloween was when The Prince’s Father was “mugged” by a marauding herd of kids from Adams High School. He came home candiless and somewhat disappointed. However the perpetrators were known to the sister of one of his buddies, who was also mugged, and within an hour it had all been recovered.
October 31, 2013 at 3:46 pm
MDH,
That is horrible-to mug anyone especially a kid and steal his candy. I’m glad it was all recovered but what happens to the muggers?
October 31, 2013 at 4:23 pm
No extra candy
October 31, 2013 at 6:38 pm
Kat, thank you for “liking” , sometimes Pumpas get their own way. I haven’t seen him for ten days and i got a pretty good greeting.
October 31, 2013 at 7:11 pm
MDH,
Ethan makes a fine sheriff though I’m a little curious about an axe murderer that young!
October 31, 2013 at 2:00 pm
Congratulations Red Sox! Does it mean that the Sox are the world’s best team now? Pure coincidence that I wear red socks today.
Almost 7 p.m., so far 2 ghosts and 3 witches visited my house here in Halloween-newcomer-country.
Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2013 at 3:24 pm
Birgit,
It does mean they are the best team, at least in the United States. I think your mind sent you a subtle hint to wear red!
That is cool that you had some of the traditional trick or treaters-lots of witches and ghosts when I was a kid.
October 31, 2013 at 2:48 pm
So I stayed up to finish the game, and at 5:30 this morning had a big piece of humble pie. Lackey was superb last night (I still say no one is worth $83 million, unless they find a cure for a fatal disease), having almost a shutout until he got tired. Koji Uehara is a sung hero now; the Flyin Hawaian got things rolling and saved the day .
A little more than three months ’til spring training.
October 31, 2013 at 3:30 pm
Bill,
Lackey was great the whole of the play-offs. Last night was just another example. He looked different this year: in better shape and Tommy John worked.
A five year 83 million dollar contract is not all that uncommon or even high money anymore. Lackey’s per year’s salary doesn’t even make the top 25 highest paid baseball players.
Koji was amazing this year and I loved Victorino banging his chest after his hits!
They need another pitcher to replace Peavy.
October 31, 2013 at 3:25 pm
So fun that the Sox won 🙂 Congratulations!
Halloween is getting bigger and bigger over here, still a bit small compared to other holidays though. But most people over here have problems knowing what day Halloween really is 🙂 🙂
Some have already celebrated it last weekend, a few will this weekend but since the Church of Sweden saked people to not celebrate it when we’re having All Saints Day here (First Saturday in the month of November) many will celebrate it next weekend 🙂 🙂 :-)I don’t think anyone celebrates it today though.
I’ll carv my pumpkins tomorrow I think, very few walk by here in the dark anyway since I live at the end of the road so close to the forest so it doesn’t matter when I do it really 🙂
Happy Halloween!
Christer.
October 31, 2013 at 3:34 pm
Thanks, Christer. It was so great watching that age last night.
Halloween is second to Christmas in the amount of money spent. Last year I had the most kids I’ve ever had. This year I’m ready! What is neat is some of the malls also have trick or treating for kids.
All Saint’s Day is always November 1st here, but it isn’t a religious holy day for other than Catholics here.
I loved carving pumpkins then lighting them from the onside. This year I just bought small ones for decoration.
Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2013 at 6:47 pm
Well, the Sox did a great job winning last night and deserve to be the World Champions. Lackey pitched a fabulous game and the Sox got timely hitting and great fielding.
Halloween is one of those ridiculous holidays between Labor Day and Thanksgiving designed to increase retail sales. Just another excuse to wrangle money out of people’s pockets for candy, costumes and decorations. Of, course it doesn’t hurt pediatric dentist’s practices either 🙂
Many of my neighbors just turn off their lights and don’t answer the door. One year a neighbor had sparkling wine for the parents and candy for kids. Unfortunately, he moved away or died. I am always amazed how many kids and their parents invade our neighborhood from the surrounding apartment complexes. I can understand why they beg for upper middle class candy in our neighborhood? 🙂
October 31, 2013 at 7:21 pm
Bob,
That was a great game for the Sox. You’re right about Lackey. He was superb.
I’m not as cynical as you about Halloween. All the kids were from my neighborhood and wore great costumes, many of them homemade. I had bubbles and mummy wind-ups for the little kids, no dentist delight.
My neighbors all had their lights on. There are 7 kids in just two houses on my street, and there were kids of my former students here too. The older kids got candy-regular size bars, and they were pretty darn excited.
How does middle class candy differ? Don’t most people just give out the fun sizes of different bars.
October 31, 2013 at 8:52 pm
Of course it is fun for little kids and some adults. Somehow people from the apartments crowd our neighborhood because they think that they are going to get the big bars because we live in big houses 🙂
October 31, 2013 at 9:10 pm
Bob,
That surprises me that they expect big bars as regular size bars are rare nowadays. My supermarket doesn’t even carry them except individually. I ordered them on-line.
November 1, 2013 at 7:22 am
Hi Kat,
I had some spiffily dressed characters at my door last night. Most were little ones. One sparkly witch that was just about walking. A fluffy tiger that had given up walking by that time. A few tiny clowns. There were even two dogs in costume. Rocky was so exited. People! Kids! Dogs! He wagged his tail for everyone.
I only have two small bags of candy left over and one of those was partly used. They went through the two giant size bags.
It was dreary and a little rainy last night.
Rain never stopped us. We cruised all over the surrounding streets and garnered much booty. Then we would come home, have hot cocoa and winnow through the takings to sort the good stuff from the yucky things (like candy corn which I loathed). Homemade popcorn balls were always a favorite. Apples were sometimes good, sometimes not so good but they had to be separated out because they were not amenable to being stashed under one’s bed. 🙂
Enjoy the day.
November 1, 2013 at 11:05 am
Hi Caryn,
Gracie almost got out at one point. I had to drop everything and grab her. She was just so excited.
I had some great costumed kids last night too. They seemed to have taken a lot of time and imagination. I had someone with all green make-up and an elf costume. One mother was great with a lot of lights and a witches costume. It was a fun night though there were too many Michael Meyer and Elm Street movies. I wanted the really old ones like The Mummy. I guess you need lots of bodies and blood for a horror movie now.
I have a lot of candy left over. I had mostly little kids and they got wind-ups and bubbles. I did give one group regular size Hershey bars and they went running to their parents waiting on the road yelling, “We got big bars.” They were a hit.
The run didn’t start until I was in bed. I had opened my bedroom window as it was so warm, but when the rain started around midnight, I closed it as the rain was coming in. Last night was just fine for trick or treating.
(I also loathe candy corn. I buy a bag and use it for decoration then throw it away.)
Have a wonderful day!