Happy Halloween

I had a sensible bag for the candy. One of those plastic bags that managed to find a lot of room for the treats. My friends had about the same volume to their bags. But, Brother Tommy always surpassed us all. My big bro used to haul candy in an old pillow case. Scouting and prowling the neighborhood and the outlining areas was his M.O. My dear brother had an a sweet tooth a mile long, so, it took him into the deepest apartment buildings and the far away homesteads. But, this was the 1970's, the last innocent time to be a kid. So, there was no worry to be had. And, there wasn't. Des Plaines, Illinois was innocent then......... Soon, the knocks will be at my door, like all of yours, with little kids telling me trick or treat [ always in a charmingly shy way] and their bags will be open for my giving them their rewards. Halloween, as we all know, is the second best time to be a kid. Christmas stumped every other day because you were waiting for the Magic Man himself, Mr. Claus. But, Halloween ran a close second because of one simple cardinal rule: you can eat as much candy as you want and you won't hear anything negative about it. No cautionary warnings that it will make your skin break out and rot your teeth. Everybody jumps on board the candy train....... I can't remember my first costume as a kid but it had to have come from Osco. Back in the golden era of the 70's, costumes were much more simple and economical. I always seem to remember being wrapped in some plastic outfit with the outline of a monster or ghoul on my chest. Skeletons ran supreme. However, I always liked pictures of Dracula and other monsters who scared the hell out of me every other day of the year. Mom always went to Osco to buy these outfits because it was rather cheap and we kids looked good all goofied up. In those times, there wasn't the elaborate special effects of the movies today. Then, if you wanted to be a ghost, throw a white sheet on your head. You wanted to look like a rock star? Chances are your older siblings had some psychedelic attire still left over from the free-wheeling Sixties that you could wear. But, the plastic outfits were the best. They weren't heavy, were rather easy to put on, and made you feel scary...... Remember how fun school was on Halloween? Perhaps, it was the only fun day of the year [ last day of school really doesn't count] because you had parties. The teachers were all dressed up in various costumes. They had to show respectability in their outfits, but I always wondered, even in my precious childhood, if they slipped off those costumes when we kids left, and then the fun would really start to unfold. But, the teachers always were cool with how they looked---- a sidenote: I look back and realize I always had good teachers in my school years. I do not remember disliking any of them at any level------ and, even then, I had the impression that by behaving like this, there was some real humans beings behind the lessons we were taught. Games spun around the classrooms, with every kid taking a turn and winning a prize. This was a touching gesture on the teachers part because not everyone was good at games. These women, bless them wherever they are now, always played fair and made sure no one was not a winner doing something. The music would be playing [ the ''Monster Mash'']  and much laughing and singing would be had. Thank you again, my lost-forgotten teachers of Albert Einstein Elementary School in Des Plaines. I hope we kids were good to you and gave back our appreciation on how well you threw a party........... After school, the action really started!!! You paired up with your friends and knew immediately which house would be hit first. You always singled out the houses with the best candy and you wanted to get there first before other kids took all of the good stuff. I think my lifelong drive to get to a party early comes from these days. I want the action to start now and last long. We kids didn't fuck around. There was a mission here to beeline to the first house and grab the moolah. Maybe, your first greeting of '' Trick Or Treat'' is the most powerful. It has been stored up in you for a year and the anticipation is making me waaaaiiiiiiiiiittttttttttiiiiiiiinnnnnnnggggg!!!!!!!! Suckers came out, along with candy bars. Snickers were always my favorite--- an affair to which I enjoy to this day---- but, Baby Ruths were welcome, along with Kit Kats or Hersheys or Mounds [ my Mom's favorite]. Sometimes, gum would fly into the bag. But, there was always some asshole who would give out fruit!!! They would drop an apple into your bag and break the suckers!!! What's with the apple, pal? As soon as we walked away from the house, we all would throw that apples back at the house. Fuck you, buddy!!! We want candy!!!........... After the first house had been visited, the candy would start to be eaten as you canvassed the neighborhoods. Along the ways, you would pass your school friends, some might have changed from their costumes earlier in the day and you would join them, sometimes as a big group, to march towards the door. I always appreciated the warm smiles from the mothers who answered the door. They were having a ball seeing our costumes and loving the joy that ran across our faces as we got the goods into our bags. I was raised to always say, ''Thank You'', when something is done for me. And, so were my friends. There would be the chorus of little kids voicing, ''thank you'', before the door closed. The moms would laugh, wave, and wish us all a good time, but, be safe........... And, we were safe. Des Plaines back then was like most suburbs. Everybody knew their neighbors and watched out for the kids playing. If someone suspicious was in the area, everybody knew and protected the kids. That was why my brother, Tommy, went distances for his rewards. The areas were safe. No one was gonna hurt anybody. There were no drugs or shady dealings in our community. If you were out after dark, everything was ok. But, you still had to check in with Mom and Dad. Normally, I was home by the time it was dark. And, as soon as I got home, my Dad would look through the bag to see what I got and if everything was safe. Maybe. But, he wasn't fooling me or anyone else. He was looking for candy he liked. Of course, Dad, you can have some of my stash. The problem was that my Dad and I had similar tastes in candy. So, I did see many precious Snickers make their way down my Dad's throat. It was all good, though. Even then, I would have given him the world.......... The final reward of the special day was the annual viewing on Channel 9 of  ''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein''. This was a religious viewing. Eating the candy while Bud and Lou met up with Dracula, the Wolfman, and ole Franky himself. Even though it was a comedy, there were still some scary moments in the movie. Now, its laughable, but when you are a kid, things like being alone in your house and hearing things go bump in the night really scare you. The scares in this chestnut of a movie are all in good fun, however. A good, scary movie is required watching on a day like this. Not the absurd and violently gross movies that pass as horror films now. But, a movie you can watch with someone, or better yet, alone, with the lights off, that keeps your heart beating a little faster and on the edge of your seat......... The candy is in the bowls by my door awaiting the first knocks. The only worry is that I will start eating some of it before Halloween arrives. I look forward to seeing the kids and their costumes. I look forward to seeing how happy their faces are as they wish me ''trick or treat'' and hold open their bags. I look forward to them being pleased by the candy because I buy some good stuff. I look forward to seeing their hot Moms there watching over their kids. Last year, I got hit on by two mothers but they looked like Bela Lugosi, so nothing came of it. And, I look forward to watching ''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein'' again. It will be watched with me eating candy and reconnecting, for a little while anyway, with the kid in me......... We all need to revisit our childhoods in some form. God help us when we ever stop being kids at heart........