Halloween Quip

Overheard Trick-or-Treat quip:

Departing boy: "She was soooooo pretty!"
Departing sister: "I liked her pants!"
...wait for it...
Departing boy: "I meant the kitty!"

In the quaint midwestern town where I live, for some reason, the Town Wise Men and Women have decided that children go trick-or-treating on the Thursday before Halloween. I've got a couple of problems with this, which I'll enumerate here.

First, the Thursday before Halloween was October 26th, 5 days before Halloween itself. Secondly, if it *had* to be on a Thursday, why not November 2, which is only 2 days removed? And finally, the trick-or-treaters were done by 8:30. Thursday, just like Tuesday, October 31st, is a school night. Why move it if it's finished early enough not to interfere with school night activities? Why have it on a Thursday at all? I just don't understand that, and no one I've asked locally has any answers. So, I'm going to have to draw out the big guns, and Write the City Council.

I'm a big fan of Halloween fun. No weird contextual underlying thing to infer here, I just love it as a way to celebrate the changing of seasons and a really good excuse for a costume (as opposed to work, which is my typical Monday - Friday costume habit). And, I'm glad I was able to experience it here. This town of about 40,000 is incredibly safe and peaceful, so children here, unlike in Houston or other metropolitan areas, can still go door-to-door trick-or-treating in relative safety. No fears of being snatched up by predators or poisoned by sickos.

So, as soon as it got dark, the traffic along my street was incredible, with cars parked all along the south side (no parking on my side!!). A steady stream of kids poured through, and there was some definite creativity put into a number of the costumes. Many of the kids stepped all the way inside the house and would comment about the fireplace, the carpet, the tv, etc. - very nice and polite munchkins. Most even said "thank you", and one chatty Cathy, after thanking me, wished me a Happy Halloween, Happy Thanksgiving, and Merry Christmas!!

The best costume was worn by a young boy. He definitely had help from a parent or two, but his costume was ingenious. It was a cardboard construction of a refrigerator. There was an opening in the top freezer compartment for his face. Upon reaching the door, he'd say trick-r-treat, and open his own door - the fridge door. Inside the door were some empty bottled drinks, a carton of eggs, and other condiments. The body of the fridge had a cutout with a bag attached marked "Candy". Ingenious!
The other notables of the night were a young girl dressed as Velma, the brainiac from Scooby Doo. Kudos to young girls dressing as smart girls. Then there were a group of four teens. They wore probably The Most Shocking costumes in town - and probably the Rebel Teenagers. One girl was dressed as a pregnant nun, accompanied by her muslim husband. They in turn were accompanied by another couple - a gay priest holding hands with a hassidic jew. All very Benneton.

So, here in NW Ohio, Halloween is apparently over. We'll have to see if my yard pumpkins go missing on the Real Hallowed Eve......