Sweet Memories
31 October 2010
The Prince Consort was born the day before Halloween. So he grew up with his Mom making wonderful Halloween Birthday parties for him. What a fabulous memory!
Halloween memories. Sweet. Literally. I remember when Trick or Treating was not a perilous venture. When getting a candied apple or homemade cookies from a neighbor did Not mean immediately throwing them away when the Candy Police showed up to keep you safe from bad stuff. Back then I spent more time figuring out how to make my costume look different four or five times, so I could hit up Mrs. Smith over and over. Mrs. Smith not only fussed over every costume until you felt like a genius, but baked the world’s best molasses cookies.
We waited until dark and flooded out of our houses, unencumbered by guardian parents, although responsible for younger siblings. We wore the costumes pulled together out of the ‘dress up’ box. Well, except for some fancy souls whose parents either made elaborate costumes for them or bought one. Bought! WOW!
Pitch black neighborhoods, lighted only by porch lights, didn’t scare us or our parents. A few neighbors weren’t home or didn’t participate. There were ingrates who ‘tricked’, but I always netted enough candy for a sugar-induced coma, so the non–participants didn’t bother me.
I was Not one of the pillowcase Trick or Treaters. In my neighborhood anything larger than the brown paper grocery bag was bad form, greedy. Filling my bag, my biggest problem became where to hide my candy. My little sister was a candy eating machine. She could work through her bag and go on the hunt for mine in two days flat. One Christmas I was given a toy safe complete with combination lock. Too small to hold a grocery bag’s worth, I could store only the most prized candy, chocolate. The rest I either ate up or gave up.
My sister had the right idea. Chocolate does not get better doled out over months. It goes bad, stale. If you have chocolate, EAT it NOW! Before the goblins or the Candy Police come for it.
Enough of those sweet memories, I have candy corn that is going bad before my eyes. And the Prince Consort better gobble up his peanut M&M’s before I save them from going stale.
Happy Halloween.
Kath
