Well, Halloween is just around the corner, pumpkins are being snatched up left and right, blow up decorations are popping up on lawns all over the place, and last minute costume ideas are being googled right now at this very second. I have always enjoyed Halloween, as a kid, as an adult, no matter if I did anything or not. I just love the buzz that day creates, the joy that is brings. People all over the world are gearing up for another night of fending off ghosts and ghouls for the big sugar rush.
The fall colours allow for the perfect backdrop for such a holiday, pumpkins pop with shades of orange as leaves turn a deep red. There’s a chill in the air for character and the wind tends to whistle, all keys assets in creating the perfect eerie atmosphere, and yeah, it’s a different kind of dark out.
By now most kids are planning their routes meticulously making sure not to fall victim to the door knocking hordes that only affect your candy bottom line. Nope, it has to be perfect, each home studied in years past and marked with its own payload of tooth aching loot. I know for me mobility was everything so an actual Halloween night costume had to be a stark contrast to the school dance one, it was all about the candy tonight baby.
Halloween night has a feel to it, it was and is still is a night you just know is different from the rest. The anticipation of the looks on people’s faces as they caught a glimpse of the costume you were wearing, and if you were wearing a legit winner, then all the more satisfying. We all lose our minds coming up with ideas and spend tanks of gas gathering up the parts we need across town, and mind you, you still need to put it all together. Opting for one of the store bought costumes will save you years off your life but there’s no better feeling when you had everything to do with the costume you are wearing.
Kids are no different, when they have a super sick costume on, they beam with happiness, they want to stay like that forever, or at least go to bed wearing it. Being a kid is what Halloween is all about, the mystery and excitement of living out your fantasies with friends. Picking that perfect costume and having the benefit of changing your mind every year thereafter, it’s about imagination, sometimes teamwork and most of all creativity. Then there’s the candy, the candy is the best part, pouring your exploits out on the living room floor and beginning to allocate the treats to their designated tastiness was a sense of accomplishment mixed with sugar highs. The candy acted like a timeline of matching treat to house and rating the house on whether or not we would return next time around. The following week I would have pockets of goodies to please my sweet tooth and enough to use as currency on the schoolyard, I was in a good place.
I was more of a two bag guy; I know there were some who would spend all night collecting treats trying to break their old distance records and padding their house count totals. They would plan ahead and stuff an extra pillow case under the heavy sweater they were wearing and bring that extra mask for the deceptive maneuver of retrying a house wearing a new identity, bold move. Halloween has so many good memories like that for me growing up, some of the best times to be a kid, a lot of fun.
As an adult we still get to enjoy Halloween, its actually encouraged, we too can make believe and have fun with the annual spooky night. Some of the best parties that I have attended were Halloween parties, people put a lot effort in pulling one of those off, and it was fun to be a part of. Some places that I have worked took part in costume contests, I once earned a day off because of the costume I was wearing was voted the best. Pumpkin spice is the new orange, hands are hanging out of trunks, and your spook meter has gone up a few notches, Halloween is all around us so we may as well have a good time with it. Everybody loves a good scare, right?
No matter what your age, Halloween is a great escape from our normal lives, as kids we loved dressing up and getting to see our own kids or grandkids play those same parts are great memories in the making. Be a kid again, it’s ok, “trick or treat” resonates with all of us and when we think of Halloween the next thing that should come to all of our minds is candy, candy…..candy.
Happy Halloween
Earth To Ash 