There is nothing like fall to get me fully energized.
Whether it’s the first morning I wake up and actually have to pull the covers a little closer around my shoulders, or, like today, had to grab a sweatshirt in order to sit on my patio to drink that first great cup of coffee. No more tee-shirts for that early morning ritual.
The nip in the air not only makes me peppy, it also brings to mind all the great memories of fall festivities of the past…especially, Halloween! Some of you must remember…
Those super scary thoughts of ghosts and goblins, the headless horseman, the decision of what to wear for Halloween and could your mom make your costume in time for the Halloween Parade at school.
I LOVED it all. Costumes, make-up, swords and fake moustaches, pirate hats and those great eye patches, an absolute necessity if one was to run around screaming, “Arrggg” and requesting girls in princess crowns, “walk the plank”.
Ah, those were the good old days…When kids could go trick or treating around the neighborhood without fear of being given a poison apple, or like poor little Hansel and Gretel, being grabbed by a witch for purposes too evil to think about.
Neighborhood parties where EVERY kid on the block was invited to dunk for apples, drink hot cider, eat pumpkin-shaped cookies after having run in a pack going door to door bellowing, “Trick or Treat” and always remembering to say, “Thank you”, when the treat was ceremoniously dropped into your little bag.
My mom used to make candied apples, tons of them, or popcorn balls wrapped in wax paper to hand out to the bigger kids, and suckers for the little ones.
I remember eating the candy as we were on our trek, never concerned that the chocolate bars might contain a hallucinogenic, or the apples would contain a razor blade.
Of course that was a long, long, time ago.
When did we lose our “safety-net”? When did kids start being targets for what has become an increasing number of predators? Or were “bad” people always hiding around dark corners.
Who knows? But we all care. So this year as we gear up for October 31, don’t plan on making home-made goodies for the little ones. Nope, because all parents with brain one will caution the kiddies NOT to start eating anything out their collection bag until they get home, the contents are spilled out on the kitchen table and the parent checks each and every morsel. The first to go is anything that appears to be “home made”. Only wrapped candy will be permitted to be consumed.
OSHA warnings will appear on anything hazardous such as spider rings, balloons, fake eyeballs with warnings that this should not be given to anyone under three years old and tons of statements about the dangers of choking.
Sensible parents will be checking out costumes for warning concerning “fire-retardant” fabric on costumes because hardly anybody “MAKES” the kid’s costumes anymore and moms and dads will be shelling out plenty of dough at stores designed only for the sale of Halloween goods…Are they kidding me?
Oh, well, I’m not going to let any of this depress me. After all, here I am drinking my coffee, bundled in an old sweatshirt and loving the crisp, brisk nip in the air.Happy Halloween and may all your little goblins have a safe one.