Who could pass up free candy?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Even though my daughter is 12, she still asks that I get her a costume so that we can all go trick-or-treating. I expect it from my son, who's only 9, but I would have thought she would have grown out of it by now. However, she did mention that soon she's going to have to be nicer to her brother because she's going to have to rely on him in future years to share his haul.

My son was a ninja this year. It seems he alternates between that and power rangers. My daughter found a cute geisha costume. The other two girls are sisters who're friends of my daughter's. The one in red with socks stuck to her (she said she was a sock puppet!) also has traditional locks, as does her mother. Even pets were dressed for the day.

Quite a number of people put their carving skills to good use on pumpkins. These weren't your ordinary jack 'o lanterns. One even had a carving of Samuel Adams (from the beer label) on it and it was on the block where they traditionally have treats for the adults (think beer, wine and cheese, and hot and cold dips) as well as candy for the kids. I even found a pumpkin that appeared to have dreadlocks!


We got really luckythis Halloween. The temperature this evening was almost 70 degrees. Perfect for trick-or-treating. There's nothing worse than trying to stuff yourself in a cute costume over enough clothing to keep you warm without having to put a coat on top of it so no one can tell who or what you are. Not to mention that it's too cold to stay out for hours to ensure that you get maximum loot!

But, to tell the truth, I like trick-or-treating because I benefit as much as they do. After we examine all the candy, we sort out the ones that they don't like, they make their trades and I get to keep the ones neither one of them likes. My son doesn't care for chocolates (obviously not a trait he inherited from me), preferring the chewy types like starbursts, skittles and twizzlers. While my daughter likes chocolate and takes all the peppermint patties, 3 musketeers and milky ways, she doesn't like those with nuts. That means I get all the snickers, hershey's with almonds, reese's cups, mr. goodbars and almond joys. I'm licking my fingers as I type!

One of the things I really miss about Halloween is the ritual of ringing a doorbell and yelling "trick-or-treat!" The majority of people who participate sit on their stoops (east coast city word roughly equivalent to a porch) and wait for kids to walk past. Some even leave a lonely bowl of candy from which kids help themselves. It's kind of disappointing, but I guess it does save people from having to get their creaky joints up and down every time the bell rings.