It’s Halloween, hide the markers

It is almost time for Halloween, also known as the holiday dedicated to free candy. Soon there will be goblins and zombies walking side by side with Spidermen and witches. They will go from house to house collecting goodies. Some communities think that is too dangerous and instead offer a merchant’s night where candy is collected from businesses along a pre-set, well-lit route. Many other organizations also have their own rituals and parties.

My friend, Mary, who recently moved to Arizona, has discovered that she and her hubby enjoy kayaking. They joined the Lake Havasu Kayak Club. Their latest event had my friend dressed as a witch. She kayaked along with what appeared to be at least a hundred other women also dressed like witches. There were a few paddle boards sprinkled among the kayaks. It was breezy enough that she had to exchange her pointed witch’s hat for something a little smaller that wouldn’t blow off. She said it was great fun.

In addition to candy, magazines and newspapers share recipes for all kinds of home-made treats. These should never be given away to random children. They should be restricted to family only as I don’t know anybody who would let their kids eat anything that wasn’t pre-wrapped and sealed.

When I was young there was always an older couple or two who gave out apples and popcorn balls. The apples promptly went into the trash, followed by the popcorn balls. The apples were small and some had worm holes in them. The popcorn balls were misshapen and had come unwrapped at some point in the evening. Bits of sticky popcorn clung to random pieces of chocolates and apples.

There were tales of treats having needles in them. Some of the local hospitals offered to X-ray candy for free. The goal was to find any candy that had been tampered with. Personally, I never knew anybody who had found dangerous things in their loot.

My daughter and her bunch celebrate Halloween. Her sons, Jacob and Nicholas, are finally big enough to carve their own pumpkins. From the pictures she sent to me it looks like they did a fine job of carving. They usually team up with my daughter’s sister, Chrissy, and go trick or treating in Chrissy’s neighborhood. Chrissy and her family have moved so I am not sure what their plans are for the day.

I think our niece’s daughter, Mackenzie, has gotten a head start on the holiday. She stayed home with her dad while her mom went to pick up her sister from school. Mackenzie found a blue marker and proceeded to decorate herself, then ran around claiming she was a blue monster.

Halloween isn’t much of a holiday for us. We usually close the curtains and peek out once in a while to see if there are still beggars around. We haven’t handed out candy in years and years. My excuse is that we don’t have a working porch light, Plus the few houses on my block remain dark on beggar’s night. We have new neighbors and it remains to be seen whether or not they will offer treats.

Sometimes I miss handing out candy. Sometimes I miss having treats left over. Most of the time I forget all about the holiday until I see aisles and aisles of Halloween costumes and goodies. By then it is time to begin shopping for Thanksgiving and Christmas.