And I walked to and from school 40 miles uphill in the snow....

I'm new to town. I've been trying to explore the neighborhood, but with the days getting shorter, it's been hard to get out before dark. And I don't feel comfortable walking after dark. So, Wednesday night, seeing as it was Halloween, I decided to talk a walk. Halloween night is for the young and the young-at-heart; a night of costumes and candy and a certain freeing of the spirit. Halloween night is an excellent night to explore the neighborhood in the dark.

So I went for a walk. It was great. This is a nice neighborhood. And as I walked, I got to see kids in costumes, parents in costumes, a couple families having bonfires in their front yard, and people walking dogs in costumes. (And that's Just Wrong: if you're going to subject your poor dog to the humiliation of devil horns or a clown ruff, you should be wearing something stupid too. Well, something stupider than your usual wear.)

Anyways, as I was walking, I heard a husband talking to his wife as the kids raced off to another front door. "I'm starving," he said, "I should have had something to eat before we left. When we get home, I'm eating something." And I thought to myself; "dude, you're carrying a pillowcase of candy and your kids are getting more. They won't notice, and even if they do, they can spare a few pieces. EAT THE CANDY if you're so hungry!"

But then I remembered the age we're living in.

When I was a child (walking uphill 40 miles in the snow to and from school each day, even in August), you went trick-or-treating in your neighborhood. You knew your neighbors. And limiting yourself to the houses of people you knew still got you a serious haul (especially if you had one of your parents' pillowcases instead of some lousy small plastic pumpkin bucket). A lady around the corner made the BEST brownies, with thick icing. She gave out BIG chunks wrapped in individual pieces of cellophane. Another house gave out rice krispie squares. A third house gave out apples and a fourth gave out toothbrushes ... those places were a waste of valuable trick-or-treating time but you went to appease your parents and To Be Polite. In short, all the cliches about Halloween were covered in our neighborhood. And it was magical.

When I was a teenage, I sometimes took the kids I babysat trick-or-treating. When we got home I'd help them sort through the bags and take out all home-made foodstuffs. Parents who gave out home-made products let other parents know, and anything whose house could be identified could be eaten. The rest would be chucked. There was also the option of taking treats to a police station or McD's to be run through some scanner to ensure there was no metal inside.

Two years ago I went trick-or-treating with a co-worker and her kids. Afterwards, she and I helped her eldest sort out all the peanut-exposed products (he's allergic). Then we took out all the home-made stuff and fruit and just tossed it: my co-worker didn't know her neighbors well enough to trust their product. Then we explored packages for evidence of opening-and-resealing. Then the kids got to eat.

And nothing has changed since then. This Halloween, in one child's bag parents found (and reported to police) some small purple candies that weren't actually candies; they were anti-smoking pills. In another child's bag; allergy pills. A third child received an apple with a nail in it. And I understand why a father wouldn't appease his hunger by raiding his child's bag.

Though Halloween may have a basis in pagan rituals and the supernatural, it's now a time of fun and play and is kinda the epitome of childhood innocence... if you ignore the toilet-papering and egg-throwing.... Given the number of candies each child receives and the number of children out mooching, the number of violated candies is a relatively small portion of the candies changing hands on Halloween. But the potential is there, and this kinda puts a damper on the event for the rest of us. And I'm wondering what things are going to be like in another 5 years... will I be checking the candy in my children's bags for minuscule syringe holes, razor blades and nails, or washing candy packages to eliminate possible drug residue on the outside to be absorbed into the skin of children's hands? Or maybe I'll just buy my kids' candy... let them have a Halloween party, let them dress up, but forget the trick-or-treating.

I guess this is a consequence of communities getting bigger and families becoming more isolated. I've heard about some schools and community centers that host Halloween events where children can go around to different stations in the gym or a community center or a school, with candy purchased by the people running the event, and games stations run by parents, teachers, and community workers. And maybe this is the way to go.

But still, our children are losing something precious; the one night of the year (apart from Christmas, maybe) when they can take back the night, feel free and mischievous and wild - and safely so. And it makes me sad.


http://www.canadaeast.com/front/article/115849

http://www.9wsyr.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=4f7f94c5-774b-4e97-9e47-dfae04379dd9