Are you ready for trick or treating?
Tuesday, October 25, 2016 12:16 pm By MIKE WEST Few Halloweens slip by without me thinking about my younger days and my first - and only - costume back in the 1950s. I was horrified by it ... much to the delight of everyone except my brother Van, who was scared silly by his own black cat costume. Well anyway, finally a compromise was worked out over those scary outfits. After all, I was afraid to even be in the same room with mine. That scary mask was just too much. We could wear a little black mask if we would just pose for a photo along with our scary Texas jack 'o' lantern. Yes, Halloween has certainly changed since those years of my youth. Especially trick or treating ... it has really changed. Back when I was a boy, we would walk for miles filling our (relatively) big bags full of candy, popcorn balls and shiny, red apples. In more recent years, things really began to get out of control with cars full of teenagers hitting every neighborhood. Dressed in normal street clothes, they carried pillow cases bulging with candy. Those teens just bang on the door and hold out those big bags then dash to the next house and once the neighbor-hood is clear just roll on to the next. Because of that, trunk or treating has emerged as many folks favorite Halloween event. I'm sure you are familiar with the term. Fortunately, Halloween along High and College Streets is much like a big Trunk 'N Treat on Halloween evening. Those streets are blocked and vehicular traffic is prohibited. Throngs of kids and their parents make their way down the two streets, collecting candy along the way. It's a fun, joyful experience with homeowners sharing treats and the American Legion and the folks at Adams Memorial Library adding to the fun. As for my own Halloween experience... Dang it, I'm just too , uh, old, uh "not young enough" to go collect candy. Besides my poor teeth just aren't cut out to handle my favorites. But, can you even find Kraft caramels any more? Probably not. But the candy issue won't stop me from wearing my usual costume this year. Reckon not! I'll leave that to oldtimers like Dandy Dan Whittle. Talk about a serious spookster!
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