Treat or Treat?

I am that little old lady, (or getting older, I should say) that can take you on a stroll down memory lane almost like no other. Anyway, I was chatting with a childhood friend and we started talking about how elaborate Halloween has gotten these days. I started thinking about growing up on 18th Avenue (lived in 2 different houses on 18th so we are talking the majority of my childhood.) There were no decorations except for maybe that jack-o-lantern you so proudly made and brought home from school. I did not know anyone with an expensive costume with things that lit up or shimmered in the darkness; not even sure they sold costumes then. There would be a block filled with children dressed as hobo's, princesses with crowns made of cardboard covered in aluminum foil (or was that just me?) There were no taking the candy to the hospital to get it x-rayed, no one was injured from a razor blade in an apple. The only person that gave me an apple was Mrs. Lucinda and she loved us and we loved her. Speaking of apples.....she only gave them, a long with a full size snickers to her "special trick or treaters" who consisted of the neighborhood children. Everyone on the block did this. I looked forward to getting a pickle from Mr. JD's. on my way to get mega treats from Mrs. Annie Lee.

Moving on, the big children watched the little children and we often went to houses where there was just a bowl of treats on the porch. No one in our group would dare think of taking more than one or two pieces. No one was jumping out of white vans snatching little children..... It was just an innocent night of fun. Well every now and then, somebody would throw an egg at Ms. Viola's house because she was NOT giving out any treats. (I was never in this incident) We were not getting anymore candy until Christmas so we would trade a piece here and there and protect our little bags. We did no satanic rituals, no one was teaching us about worshipping the devil, no one got killed because they took the haunted house so seriously that someone got stabbed...........It was simple and when I mentioned I wanted to be 4 and a half again on a recent Facebook status, I was reminiscing of a simpler time in my life. No chaos, just calmness, protection and if something bad was going on, the grown-ups did not burn the phone lines up talking about it. The TV was not rehashing bad news over and over...wait! we didn't have a TV then....neverrmind.

Until Wednesday, eat a piece of candy or a cookie today...it's okay.