Halloween

What in the hell has happened to Halloween? When we were kids you made your costume or you begged your mom to make you one. You worked for weeks on this costume. It was fun. Real fun. Old fashioned fun.

You didn't run to Walmart and buy one off a rack of costumes already made by some lady in Bangladesh that looks like the same costume that everyone in your class has. What the hell.

We had to actually use our imagination to "create" a costume. Usually out of a little bit of nothing.

We spray painted stuff, cut out stuff, used out Dad's old clothes, Mom's old dresses, used the sheets off the bed to make ghost costumes, blah blah blah.

We used to get into our Mom's makeup and forget to tell her we used up all her blush and accidently lost her eyeliner making cat whiskers.

The big deal was carving out a pumpkin with a real knife so your Mom and Dad actually had to "help" you. I think that was sort of the whole idea behind it actually. Now there is no creativity, no interaction with kids and parents, no planning out how you were gonna be a flower, bat, gypsy or whatever your little mind came up with.

We grew up out in the country where the houses were really spread out. I remember when we got old enough to actually trick or treat, we were able to walk to 3 houses and not "cross the road" that was way against the rules. So we walked, whether it was raining, snowing, or sunny.

We lived next door to an old timer named Ralph. He was one of our three stops. Now mind you when you only go to three houses you really are counting on these houses to have candy.

O.k., so every year our annual ritual would be to knock on Ralph's door and pray to God he got new candy. When we would see him heading for the cupboard over the fridge, we would look at each other and silently breathe deep "Crap, he didn't get any new candy this year".

He would reach into the cupboard and get down the official candy box. When you live out in the country you do not expect and trick or treaters, so you don't buy "new candy".

The "official candy box" as we would later call this box was one of those heart shaped Valentines candy boxes. He would slowly open it up and give each of us one rock hard piece of chocolate. He must have purchased this candy during the First World War for his wife. It would fall into our bags like a rock. "Hey, thanks Ralph" "Happy Halloween" we would all chime in trying not to cry or laugh at the same time.

We would trek home looking at each other not saying anything. We all knew you couldn't possibly eat this candy and in those days you did not complain about anything or you would NEVER be able to go again, so we bucked it up and shut up.

He gave us that candy every year until it ran out and eventually bought a new bag of candy corn to replace it.

When Ralph passed away I helped clean out his house. I found that old box still over the fridge, empty, but loaded with Halloween memories. I kept that box for years.