Halloween Present

Ahhh, it's Halloween eve. As a child, I remember the excitement that this evening brought. Everyone in the neighborhood would carve jack-o-lanterns and decorate their doors and yards. Some houses would have fortune tellers or witches who could cast "spells". Parents and children would get really creative with costumes... none of the tacky store-bought stuff would do. It was a time of fun with a hint of the macabre. It was magic.

This evening, I came home to the same neighborhood in which I have lived for 25 years. It looked particularly dark and uninviting. Porch lights which are usually on... were now off. The street seemed particularly deserted this night. No one seemed to be home. It appeared that the magic of Halloween has disappeared.

Perhaps my neighborhood, like myself, have grown older. Perhaps the "treat" of opening your front door to tiny goblins and fairies screaming "trick or treat" has given way to the "trick" of teenagers disguised as gang members shoving Kroger bags in your face as they silently admire your home. Perhaps, Halloween as we knew it, is dead.

As a child, Halloween was one of the most exciting times of the year for parents and children alike. The season had changed, children were back to school and it was a time when being scared was "fun". I look back to this time with fond memories... as I sit in my dark house, porch lights off... hoping to be spared being visited by the spirits of "Halloween present".

Forthright