Hallowed Weenie

 This was a good night, Halloween 2022.

We lived on Richland-Chambers lake just east of Corsicana for about 14 years  --  the last house on the left with a nice cul-de-sac.  For 14 years, I shopped for candy, and piled it by the front door ready and waiting for the mass of ghosts and goblins to arrive.  During the entire 14 years, we had zero, zip, nada, 0 trick or treaters.  After a few years, my wife would fuss at me for buying candy.  I bought it on the QT and waited.  I was the Linus waiting in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin to appear.

zero

14 years

Moved to Salado - the Amity development  (yes, Amity, not Amityville).  This is a nice area with large lots and affordable houses - well, most don't sell for half million or so.  Quiet.  Good yards.  People out walking their dogs.  Most houses have an unattached steel shed - mine is about 20' x 30'.  I really like the neighborhood - or most of it anyway.

Since daughter Christine became part of our household, life has taken on a different slant at times.  She has been living in a duplex with a small yard and somewhat scary neighborhood.  For 15 years or so, she has seen Halloween come and go.  Nobody did the trick or treat thing.  Would you send your kid out where the neighbors camp out in their front yards daily (nightly) eating and drinking and playing loud music of unknown origin?

Today - here she is in a completely different environment.  I bought an enormous package of candy at Walmart - 350 pieces of snickers, M&Ms, 3 musketeers -- you know the company.  We didn't give away any trash candy.

Christine, did some decorating outside.  We moved a couple of chairs to the front porch area.  All lights were turned on.  The candy was poured into a large plastic bowl. She found scary music to play over a speaker.  Then, at 6 p.m. we moved to the front area and waited.  Nothing.  6:05 silence.   About 6:10 a family of 4 walked by.  They were our first.   Another 3 came in a couple more minutes.  It is still light outside.

All of a sudden the flow began.  WHO LET THE GHOULS OUT?   Little kids, Big kids, tiny babies in the arms of a mother, an entire family dressed as the Addams family, dinosaurs, ninja fighters, clowns, Disney, princess darling, characters from TV and Movies that I have never seen, a group of older boys who stopped across the street and sang Christmas carols - yes, a serenade, lighted golf carts loaded with urchins.   I cannot describe all that came to our house. 

I had given my daughter instructions to give each kid 2 pieces of candy.  It was a good thing.  We gave away 227 pieces of candy.  Next year, I'm buying 2 bags of good candy and giving each person more.

It was a fun evening.  We stopped at 7:30 in the dark with nobody in sight.  For a while I thought I might have to go inside and break into my wife's secret stash of Snickers.  In all of my career, I have NEVER seen this much traffic of monsters and creatures on a Halloween night.

I'll say it again.

It was a fun night.

M3, The Candy Man