Boo!

Happy Halloween!

For those of you who don't live in the United States and may not celebrate (or understand) the concept of Halloween, here's the Readers' Digest explanation: one night each year, children (and their parents) dress up in costumes and go door-to-door in search of free candy or other handouts. It works like this: you dress up in your costume, approach a house, ring the doorbell, and shout "trick or treat!!" when the door is opened. The homeowner thus assailed makes an obligatory comment about the children's costumes and offers them treats lest they perform some "trick." Popular tricks from my childhood included ringing the doorbell and running away, shooting dried beans at windows from a bean-shooter (makes quite a racket), and soaping windows (drawing pictures and messages on windows with a bar of soap). Our tricks were generally harmless and considered to be in the spirit of childish fun and "letting off a little steam."

Halloween is a pretty big deal for children (and their dentists). Unfortunately, like so many other things, its character has changed greatly over the years.

I grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the houses were widely separated by empty lots and stretches of forest. Our street was (and remains today) unlit, narrow, winding, and without sidewalks...and yet, somehow, we managed to go trick-or-treating every year without mishap. Some of our older neighbors handed out fresh fruit, made candied apples, or baked cookies, cupcakes, or brownies to pass out; others just bought huge bags of candy to distribute. The more energetic actually made small individual orange and black crepe paper bags filled with small treats.

My father used to get into the spirit of the day by accompanying us on our trick-or-treating in his own costume: he would cut a huge handlebar mustache out of black construction paper and poke a hole in it through which he could smoke his cigarette. He also carried a shot glass in case he might get lucky "trick-or-drinking." I don't recall his ever getting the desired handout, but he got an "A" for effort.

Things are different now. Nowadays we agonize over the flammability of our children's costumes (which are flimsy, cheap, and usually made in China), and carefully shepherd them from place to place to be sure they're safe from gangs, pedophiles, muggers, and other dangers. After the trick or treating is over, we have to go through the ritual of carefully examining their haul of treats to make sure they've not been given anything dangerous. Those candied apples and brownies I remember from so many years ago - throw them out...no telling what may be inside. Unwrapped candy - throw it out...it may have been adulterated somehow. Even the tricks seem in many cases to be more mean-spirited, and the reaction of people who are tricked is more likely to be a lawsuit than a laugh and an invitation to cookies and a glass of hot cider.

And, of course, there are those who consider Halloween to be not a chance for children to have innocent fun, but a sinister plot by satanic forces to corrupt the young. Deeply-held religious beliefs insert themselves into the simple joy of trick-or-treating, turning it into something evil which must be avoided.

It's all sad, and it's just another example of how we're losing our ability to let our children enjoy the things that made my childhood so much fun.

So, those of you who live in areas where trick-or-treating is still observed, let your children have their fun. Keep them safe, but let them enjoy the wonder of being, for one night, a ghost or a princess or Spider Man or Wonder Woman. Let them have their candy. Don't worry about what Halloween may or may not have meant hundreds of years ago - enjoy it today. Your children will grow up fast enough, and they need the chance to have some fun doing it.

Have a good day, and good luck with tonight's trick-or-treating. Be safe. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

P.S. - yesterday's post on the need for nuclear power (and the need to understand its risks) generated quite a few comments, as did my post a few days back on taxicabs. Thanks to all of you who commented...I'll be revisiting both topics in the next few days to address some of the accumulated comments.

B.