Halloween party brought people together (10/27/2008)

Halloween came early this year. In late September we were passing out candy to a plethora of tiny Incredible Hulks, hula girls of both genders, a couple of Raggedy Ann's and lots of assorted goblins and ghouls. There were also a few Power Rangers and enough princesses for all the kingdoms in the world.

Most of them mutely held out their bags and we obligingly dropped in a few treats. The older ones preferred Pop Rocks while the little ones wanted suckers.

The motion-activated skeleton hanging from a shepherd's hook was immensely popular. A couple of the kids even tried to get him to bite. Several of them brought their friends back around to see it.

My nephew, Jadyn, considered himself "too old" for trick or treat. He wasn't too old to put on a mask and some witch doctor beads and sit on the hood of the truck with a friend he had met at the campgrounds.

One pre-school girl pointed at him and started crying. Jadyn took off his mask and hopped down to her level and tried to convince her that he was a normal human being and not something to be afraid of. The child cried even harder and clung to her mother.

It was the first time that my husband and I joined my brother David and his family for early Halloween at Hueston Woods in western Ohio. One of David's co-workers brought his family and they all shared a campsite.

For several weekends in late September and early October the campgrounds at the Woods becomes Halloween Central. All the campsites were decorated for the holiday. Some were elaborate and were complete with moving figures while others settled for a few ghosts hung from the trees. There were lots of dogs but very little barking. Some of them were dressed for the holiday. The cutest was a wiener dog that was outfitted with bun and relish. It didn't seem to mind being disguised as food.

There were various activities such as a haunted woods, a costume contest and a coffin one could inhabit for a "ride" to the graveyard. That last one is not for the claustrophobic among us. A more open and more popular attraction was the hayride.

What impressed me the most was not the Stone Soup. Most of the campers had added a can of something to the cauldron. Actually, it looked more like a giant drainage pipe that someone had welded a bottom onto. It was sitting over a fire and two older campers had assumed the task of stirring. I think they were using a boat oar. The resulting mixture was a type of vegetable soup that was very tasty.

No, what impressed me the most was the trust. Like I said, most people had added a can of something or other to the soup. Nobody was afraid of getting poisoned.

A boy that Jadyn had met at the campground and a little blond-haired boy joined our group. They hung out together, visited other campsites and generally did what children do when they are allowed to run free.

At one point David and his friend from work got out some remote-control helicopters and airplanes. We all took a turn and the little blond-haired boy was better than any of us.

My husband and I passed out the candy while David and his wife checked out the other campsites. The two stray boys stayed close by. The older one dipped into the candy and we discovered the younger one a couple of spaces away sitting on the tailgate of a truck. He was passing out his own candy with no adults in sight.

It was refreshing to see so many youngsters around and not hear whining and yelling from either the parents or the children. It was heartening to realize that there are still places where kids can explore in safety.

Best of all I saw happy children running around and exploring. I saw people making friends instead of everybody huddling inside their own man-made caves, transfixed by the flickering lights of televisions, computers and hand-held games. People were actually enjoying themselves.

Maybe Halloween should come around more often.[[In-content Ad]]