”Vampires, werewolves, fallen angels and fairies lurk in the shadows, their intentions far from honorable.”
Spirits walk tonight. The veil between the living and the dead is lifted. Sounds echo in the darkness. Fallen leaves crackle under foot. Beams of light from houses radiate in the darkness. Happy Halloween!
I remember being impatient waiting to go trick or treating. My mother was the gatekeeper. The early darkness was deceitful. We’d ask over and over again if it was time. We’d sit in our costumes and wait. Finally, after dinner, she’d let us loose. We carried pillow slips hoping to fill them. We’d start in the neighborhood then go beyond. We knew the houses which always had nickel bars. We also knew the houses which had apples and popcorn balls. Sometimes we’d get pennies or even a nickel pushed into an apple so the apples got checked. They never got eaten. At first all the houses had their outside lights on, invitations to stop and trick or treat. The sidewalks were filled with ghosts, hoboes and cowboys, some in store bought costumes. Ours were always homemade. We went far and wide, but as the night got older, houses went dark. Fewer ghosts and goblins walked the streets. It was time to head home.
At home, we sit on the floor and go through our candy treasures. We opened all the little bags and make three piles, keepers, traders and tosses. The keepers went into big bowls. The traders were negotiated. The tosses were the apples, the popcorn 1and the candy corn. They unceremoniously went into the trash in the kitchen. We’d watch a little TV, mostly the old horror movies like Dracula, The Mummy and Frankenstein, and eat candy. When my mother sent us to bed, we’d take our bowls with us. Mine went under my bed.
All Saints’ Day is the day after Halloween. It is what’s called a holy day of obligation. We didn’t have school, only the public schools did. We had to go to mass, a small price to pay for a free day and a bowl of candy.
Today is beautiful and warm. It will stay sunny with a high of 69°. I am ready for tonight. I already have my candy, nickel bars of Hershey’s chocolate. I do have a couple of errands, but I’m glad to get out and enjoy the day. BOO! BOO!
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October 31, 2024 at 12:39 pm
Hi Kat,
While reading your post about Halloween, I realize that our mothers were made from the same cut of cloth. 🙂
Everything you wrote about today I could relate to nearly 100%. The waiting in costume to go out, the using pillow cases to carry more candy. Even sorting out the goodies.
Because I have workman tearing up the floors in my downstairs office, bathroom, kitchen, and laundry room, I’m upstairs working remotely. I haven’t even looked outside. This part of the job is called mitigation. It turns out, if you have a water leak in your house, your insurance company will require that you call a restoration company so they can mitigate further damage to your home, omission of this step, then the insurance company won’t pay the claim. The good part is that I will have new floors eventually. My Halloween wish is that I could wiggle my nose and have new floors today. 🙂
October 31, 2024 at 9:36 pm
Hi Bob,
I stopped being amazed at how alike our growing up was. Our mothers must have studied from the same mothers’ handbook. Where we lived didn’t matter.
I once had a hidden leak. I only found it when the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom had large water spots. I had an estimate which I submitted for fixing the pipes and the ceiling. The insurance company never questioned it. Presto! It was fixed quickly.
I wish I could wiggle my nose for so many things.
October 31, 2024 at 6:53 pm
Only four Halloween kids today.
Have fun tonight, Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2024 at 9:38 pm
Birgit,
I had fewer this year than the last two. There were about 15 kids. They all wore the best costumes this year and some of the kids were ready young and adorable. Henry, of course, had to be exiled outside.