Although it is November, this week’s challenge relates to one of children’s all time favorite holidays – Halloween!
1) Think about your most memorable Hallowe’en – was it when you were a child (candy, games, carnivals), a teenager (tricks and treats), or an adult (perhaps a party)?
As a child growing up in Passaic, New Jersey, every Halloween night seems to blend together into one event. My house on summer Street was directly across the street from a large apartment complex, which is every child’s wildest dream on Halloween!
Source: Google Maps
The yellow arrow in the bottom left corner points to my childhood home. The two U-shaped buildings across the street were home to many of my friends.
On Halloween night, I often didn’t get to any of the other houses up and down my block because those apartment buildings – all three stories of each building, plus some basement apartments – took several hours to visit.
I don’t even remember a single one of the costumes I ever wore. I have no idea how old I was the first time I went out trick or treating – Mom probably took me to a few friends’ homes, but by the time I was 7 or 8, I was allowed to go door to door with friends and we had a lot of fun.
My last year of trick or treating was when I was eleven and it was the last year I lived in Passaic. Our new home in Wayne not only had homes on much larger lots, but I had reached the age where Halloween was for the “little kids.”
However, even in 1963, the holiday was already becoming marred by sick people who put dangerous objects in apples or opened candy bars.
I have distinct memories of my mother going through my candy stash, checking to make sure that all candy was sealed and safe the last year or two that I went trick or treating.
I find it quite sad today that most children no longer get to go door to door because of safety concerns. It’s a different world that we now live in.
Thank you, Randy, for this week’s challenge.