I was thinking about Halloween today, since we have some neighbors who seem to be seriously over-the-top with their decor for this "holiday". My wife informed me that they had placed rubber heads on pikes on either 
side of their sidewalk. Sure enough, there are some relatively lifelike severed heads there, not too far from my driveway and my small, impressionable children. I was tempted to call the HOA, but I haven't decided yet. There are only five homes on our street, and I don't want to seem like a party pooper, but dang!
At any rate, I was ruminating about my memories from Halloween, both as a kid and as a parent now.
When I was a child, my main memory involves wearing a hot mask made of _____ (I don't know what) with a thin rubber band to hold it in place. Taking off these masks always managed to take out some hair from the back of my head as well. One year when I was about six or seven, I had a lion mask and what kind of looked like lion pajamas. I remember putting my tongue though the undersized hole which was ostensibly supposed to serve as ventilation. I scraped my tongue back and forth on that tiny hole, feeling my taste buds erode. Truth be known, I wish I had an oxygen mask or a mini-fan to keep my face from sweating so much. The cool late October Dallas air never felt so good as when I was able to remove this stifling facewear.
When I was about 11 or 12, toward the tail-end of my trick-or-treating days, I remember getting a large grocery sack and my friends and I stayed out until some ridiculously late hour collecting candy. After returning home, my eyes were always "bigger than my stomach" and I would eventually go to bed feeling bloated and uneasy about what I had just consumed.
However, that bad feeling didn't last long, as I would arise the next morning and greet the day with some Snickers, candy corn, Joe Bazooka bubble gum, Now 'n' Later's, and whatever else I could cram down my gullet before my mom stopped me and made me eat a proper breakfast. That gigantic load of sweets usually wouldn't survive November 1st or 2nd at the latest. Yes, I was a candy junkie and I don't care who knows it.
Another year, in high school, I dressed all in white and made everyone guess what I was. I honestly had no idea either, but it was fun hearing the guesses all day. Once in college, I went to a costume party as a 1940's gangster, although I probably looked more like Walt Disney as a younger man. I remember the unique and excited reaction from my friends (and girlfriend) who had never seen me with my hair slicked back and with a mustache (drawn on - I couldn't have grown one then if I tried, and I did try). My girlfriend treated me like an exotic, rich, attractive stranger. Hmmm... maybe I should look into that mustache thing again. Actually, my wife HATES it when I try to grow one, so that likely won't happen.
As a parent, Halloween night feels different, with the exception of the year that my son and I went together as Sully and Mikey from "Monsters Inc.". That suit also could have used its own cooling system, as it was simply impenetrable by the wind. I probably sweated off about five pounds, but IT WAS REALLY FUN. Also, it must have been memorable, because people mentioned it several times to me months later ("Hey, aren't you that guy who was the blue monster for Halloween?" I guess it made a strong impression on people, and my son was incredibly cute as Mikey. He said, "I have one EYE!" more times than I could count that night.).
I will never forget the first time that we took my son trick-or-treating - he was not quite two. We would go to each home, knock or ring the bell, wait patiently, then whenever the neighbor answered, my son would immediately try to go inside. After about the third house, he seemed pretty perturbed with us, probably because he was wondering "Which of these people are we going to hang out with anyway?"
Once we were able to teach him about the candy part, he warmed to the idea, so we coached him on saying "Trick or treat" several times. Inevitably, he would stand quietly, accepting the treats, then the SECOND that the door closed, he would say, "Twit a tweet" to us. Oh well....
A couple of years later, he was a true master and my daughter went for her first outing. He was trying to teach her how to do it properly, and she was really looking up to him as the teacher. After three or four attempts at different homes, she got the hang of it, and began to just say, "Gimme...candee". Isn't that pretty much what we all want to say? Are we really going to perform a trick if we don't get a treat? I would like to nominate my daughter's innocent catchphrase as the new official Halloween slogan - "Gimme candy!"
In a couple of days, we will take our toddler daughter (barely 19 months now), and I will be interested to see what new memories are created Wednesday evening.
Happy early Halloween, everybody!
Copyright 2007 Austin Real Estate Jason Crouch All rights reserved
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Great memories! I always loved the haunted houses. My friends and I would hang out in lines blocks long waiting to get in. I love being afraid so this is hands down my favorite holiday!
Guess what I'm going to be???
Jason, I can think of a subtle way to make your concerns known to your neighbors. It's foolproof.
Watch that objective decor come down faster than you can say "Holy sh%t!"
Jason, thanks for the trip down memory lane. When you juxtapose the Halloweens of our era against what exists now, one thing really stands out. Halloween has become more and more gross-ified! I'm a pansy when it comes to blood and gore. Maybe the "R-rated-for-violent-content" gross stuff has its place, but I think public stuff should remain rated G or at most PG. I love Paul's solution.
Hi Jason-You just brought the memories all back from my own childhood. Thank you. It's fun looking back on the crazy things we did as kids. The last year I trick-or-treated (age 12 also), my best friend and I decided to be a 2 headed monster. We went to the local thrift store, bought big pants, she got in one side, me in the other. We went around the whole city like that. Since it was our last year, we were determined to make the record on the amount of candy we received. So when I say City, well pretty darn close to the whole City. :)
You'll have to post a picture of your darling little ones in their costumes. Have a great night!
FAINA - I enjoyed talking to you, too, and it is resolved now.
That sounds like a creative costume. Maybe it will look something like this:
Loveseat!!!! it was staring you in the face all along! (yes, had considered the devil, but)... I'm a cupcake this year!!!!!
(until I arrive at the Safari!)
I thought you would like my guesses at least. I heard once that every woman's costume is a sexy ______(insert whatever here). A sexy cat, witch, nurse, schoolgirl, etc. I would love to see you in the cupcake costume - it sounds hilarious.
Halloween is so much fun! Except it's a bummer when you get Necco wafers...those are some kind of cruel candy joke. Don't forget to watch It's a Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown tonight...now there's a classic!