6:09 p.m. - 2004-11-01
Trick or Treaters

Trick Or Treat

Had only 3 trick or treaters which is 3 more than usual. I cleaned out the garage a little this summer and found the tomb stones I made out of plywood and Mike set them up. Then he found his life sized cardboard cutout of Elvira holding a 12 pack of Coors Light and set her up on the porch.

The first little guy was so cute. He was dressed like Dino the dinosaur, but he didn't say trick or treat and when asked what his costume was, he just stared with his mouth hanging open and then ran off to his Mommy waiting on the sidewalk. I think he was just a bit overwhelmed by the whole scene. He looked to be about 3 years old. I am surprised he came up on the porch with Elvira standing there looking so spooky.

The other two were about 7 or 8 years old. They didn't say trick or treat, didn't smile and didn't say thankyou. When I fussed over their costumes, they just glared at me and didn't answer my questions as to what they were dressed as.

Mike saw a gaggle of Jr. High age kids walking down the sidewalk with bags and no costumes and wanted to yell out the door for them to come and get some candy but I am not about to meet anyone halfway that won't meet me half way by wearing a costume. We have some local kids in the development, but none of them showed up.

About 4 blocks away is a neighborhood full of $500,000.00 custom homes. All the kids skip us and go there because they figure they will get more from "The Rich People". I remember my daughter going there when she was little and "The Rich People" didn't give any better candy than us "Poor People". My Mother always said that rich people had money because they didn't spend it foolishly.

We always buy a bag of something we like because we end up eating it. The Hersheys S'more Flavored Candy Bars were delicious. I scarfed up my half of what was left while watching Turner Movie Classics showing of "The House On Haunted Hill" and "The Haunting". These were the old, scary, black and white versions. There has never been and will never be a haunted house movie as scary as "The Haunting".

I remember when I was really little, maybe about 5. These were the days when you could put a costume on a 5 year old and give her a large paper grocery bag and just send her outside to go around the block herself. My parents knew every family around our block. I went around to the other block and the Crabot family had paper skeletons on their porch and the older brother, Joey, was dressed like the devil. I came running home to get my Mother because I thought that Joey was the real devil and that the paper skeletons would get me.

Five year olds are more sophisticated now.

P. I. Yarnsmith

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