I love the fall. From the beautiful colors of the leaves to the sounds and smells of the crisp night air, no month brings more smiles to my face than October.
As a boy, I always enjoyed walking to school in the fall. I can remember jumping into piles of leaves, having acorn battles with my friends, and playing football in the neighbor’s yard. Toward the end of the month, it was time to think about Halloween. Our elementary school always held a dress-up day and a parade around the neighborhood. We would line up by grade and simply walk the streets in our costumes.
Halloween costumes back then were not of the highest quality. Most were made of cheap fabric, with a thin plastic mask held on by an elastic band. Many kids would simply improvise. We would dress up in old clothes as hobos or in old military uniforms. I remember one year cutting up old bed sheets to wrap myself up like The Mummy. This was great, until it rained.
Later in the week, it was trick-or-treat night. We were allowed to go out only in our own neighborhood, where we knew almost every family on the street. We would carry plastic pumpkins or brown paper bags to hold our bounty. Penny candy flowed like grains of sand. It was everywhere. From gumballs to taffy to candy-filled BB wafer saucers. I can even remember the hard-candy cigarettes that enabled you to blow sugary smoke. My favorite was the liquid-filled wax sticks and the red shoestring licorice. If you were lucky, you would receive a full-size Hershey or Snickers bar. If you received an apple or a pear, it usually went flying across the street at another group of trick-or-treaters. It was all in good fun.
Sadly, at some point, we simply outgrew Halloween and moved on to other things.
I still enjoy watching the It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Halloween special every year. My favorite part is when Charlie Brown gets a rock in his bag at every house. I still find this funny, even after all these years.
Diane will occasionally attempt to place a costume on one of our cats for a cute social media post. They are usually not cooperative. However, we have a kitten this year, so look out!
This year, since most of us already have a mask, we can get a head start on Halloween.
Enjoy the sights and sounds of October.
