Last night my Hershey bars were a success. Kids showed off the big bars to their waiting parents, and my neighbor told me her daughter told other kids mine was the best house, but I had fewer trick or treaters than usual so I have candy bars still left. I suspect they won’t be left for long.

Today will be warm, 68°. Right now we have sun, but the clouds will be around later. It is quite windy. Everything is blowing. I have a uke concert today. We are playing songs from the 70’s.

Some of my memories drawers are so stuffed I can barely open them. The Ghana drawers are like that. When I was there, I knew I was living a singular experience so I saved the memories. I can still see them all in my mind’s eye, a little bit faded over time but still so vibrant compared to other memories.

In Ghana, my house was on school grounds as were the houses of other tutors as we were called. Mine was a duplex, the last house by the back fence. At night, students would often drop by to visit. Having a white teacher was a curiosity so they’d chat about everything and ask questions about my home and family. On one visit I told them about Halloween. They loved the idea of free candy. On Halloween night, they remembered and showed up at my house and said, “Trick or treat!” Luckily I had peppermint candy, a Ghanaian treat.

My town, the capital of the Upper Region in Ghana, was in the far northeast. It was in the hottest part of the country with a long dry season. Few fruits and vegetables grew there. The local tribe was the FraFras. Many of my students were local but it was a boarding school so they lived in dorms. Everyone in town knew who I was. I think there was only one other white woman. I loved going into town and shopping there on market day, every third day. I wandered all over and bought eggs, beef, garden eggs, tomatoes and onions. The sellers, mostly women, would dash me, give me, a few extra onions or tomatoes. I’d stop at shops and chop bars, sort of restaurants. Everyone greeted me and called me madam. I loved every day. I loved Ghana. I loved my school, my town and my students most of all.

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!