Halloween

It’s that season…Halloween. And Americans are going to spend an estimated $3 billion+ dollars on it. Now that’s scary!

I’m from an earlier generation and Halloween wasn’t very controversial during my years as a “trick or treater”. I do remember that it wasn’t a time for small children or for older children. . Costumes were all made by hand, children’s hands. Store bought costumes were considered tacky. Parents were not involved, except for a small role as greeters and dispensers of candy at the front door. (A small, but important role.) And parents were also the arbiters, determining when a child was no longer allowed to ring doorbells…”you’re a little old for this, aren’t you?” When you heard that from 2 or more houses, you knew it was time to hang up the sack and leave the field to the younger children.

No, it was not demonic or satanic, it was loosely organized extortion. And the doorbell ringing never began until it was dark, very dark. That was the whole idea; to have a chance to be safely scared while completing your mission of collecting more loot than anyone else…