Halloween 2017

I used to love Halloween and seeing all the sweet little children dressed up and looking for candy but I haven't truly enjoyed it since some evil people began giving out deadly treats.  The innocence was gone that year.

When I had my house, I'd buy candy a day or two before Halloween because I'd eat it all if I bought it too soon.  I'd put the front porch light on to let people know I was giving out candy and, after the incidents of needle laced apples, took to giving out bottles of pop which really ruined the whole event for me.  Now I live in an apartment and no-body is allowed in so Halloween is just another day.

There was a time when it was safe to send your 7-8 year old kids out alone to wander the neighborhood collecting treats.  Hard to believe how much our world has changed!  I remember getting up to 100 children at the door and only some had parents tagging along.  As their safety disappeared, only children with parents came and the numbers dwindled drastically.

I remember as a child racing around the neighborhood and grilling other kids about who was giving out homemade fudge.  That will never be a Halloween treat ever again.  So sad.  No home made treats are acceptable now just because the evil in our world has multiplied.

And so today I'll pick up Nolan and Nash at school...they're wearing their Halloween costumes.  Their father is taking them out scrounging first and then their mother will do it later.  That's how it's done now with broken families.  Neither boy has any idea how their freedom of movement has become so restricted because of societal changes that now make it too unsafe for a child to be out in the dark without a parent along.

I remember how polite children were in the past, always saying "thank you" when given their treat.  Then they needed to be prodded.  Then the words were abandoned altogether by most children, especially the older ones who came alone.  Yes, times have changed in many ways.

No-one will knock on my apartment door looking for candy tonight so I'll spend the evening in peace but maybe just for a moment remember when Halloween was much more fun for the children...and the givers.