Keep the Coffee Comimg

If I were to look up the definition of a fall day, I’d find a picture of today with its blue sky and warm sun. It is a perfect day for Halloween.

Ghosts and goblins wander on All Hallow’s Eve when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead allows the dead to come back to earth to walk among the living. Footsteps become ominous. Look behind you just in case. If you see a shadow, run.

My brother and I were out late every Halloween. I remember leaves covering the sidewalk and piled in the street gutters. The leaves were yellow. Footsteps echoed. We’d see lots of other kids as we wandered, but as the night got older, we’d see fewer and fewer. My brother and I always decided to keep trick or treating thinking fewer kids, more candy.

We had favorite houses stored in our memories from year to year. The red house on Main Street was my favorite. It had a porch with columns across. An old lady always answered the door with bowl in hand. She’d let us pick the candy bar we wanted, yup, a five cent bar. The black and white house near school also gave out 5 cent bars. From that house, we’d cut through the town hall playground to the fire station then we’d work our way down Main Street.

When all the outside house lights went dark, we’d start for home, our treat bags slung over our shoulders. I remember so clearly those walks home. They were quiet. Our footsteps were the only sounds. The night was dark. I remember the shine of the street lights reflected on the sidewalk. We were never afraid. We had candy.

The rain has stayed around. Last night it was heavy, and I woke up to the patter on the roof. When I got downstairs, Henry really needed out so out he went. He peed at his tree which has a permanent wet spot and then he raced to the backyard for the next part of his morning ritual. He is now upstairs napping. It has been strenuous for the poor, wet boy.

Of course, I need to go out. It’s for dog food again. I’ll also buy all his treats and the cat food and treats.

The sky is getting much lighter, but that is a ruse, trickery. The weather calls for rain on and off all day. The high will be 46˚. The low makes me gasp, 36˚. That’s winter. Where is my down comforter?

When I was a kid, today would have lasted forever. First it is Friday, and second, it is the day before Halloween. It was time to finalize my costume. My mother was an artist at designing Halloween costumes. She’d scour the house for the bits and pieces she needed. Mostly we didn’t have full face masks. We had Lone Ranger masks. Make-up was liberally applied on our faces. I was once a hobo with a dirty face. I remember one of my sisters was a ballerina in a tutu. My two sisters traveled together in our neighborhood which had a million kids. My brother and I went far a field. We carried pillow slips instead of bags. I think we hoped we’d fill it. We never did. We never even came close.

Once we got home, we’d dump our candy into big bowls. High level negotiations were next. With bowls in hand we’d sit and trade candy. We also picked out stuff like popcorn balls and tossed them. In those days, candy was often in little paper bundles tied at the top. A lot of the bundles had candy corn. They were never my favorites. I used to keep my bowl under my bed so I’d have easy access. It never took long for the candy to disappear.

I hope I have kids because I have all those candy bars I love, and I’d hate them to go to waste.