Thankful Thursdays

For Halloween memories.

Yikes! Halloween crept up on us, and once again it’s time to dress-up and pretend, and eat too much candy. Yes, the kids too, of course.

What a strange tradition this holiday is. I remember well my introduction to it. As a nine-year old, coming to a new country without my parents was scary enough. Arriving on Halloween night and seeing zombies, skeletons and Richard Nixons walking about was terrifying and weird. It left an impression, if you can imagine. But, equally strange, was the fact that I liked it. From that moment on, I was hooked.

Today, forty-seven years after that experience, I reminisce about one of my favorite Halloween memories. It’s of us packing in Lauren, Danny, their cousins and friends in our golf cart and trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. The kids would jump off the cart (sometimes while still moving) and run at top speed from house to house. Then we’d finish off the night with some of our home-made concoction of punch, rubber spiders, eyeballs, fingers and a bit of dry ice for foggy effect. That was always a big hit. One year we dumped dry ice in the pool. Too cool.

Through the years, we’ve gathered at home with family, friends, and lots of neighbors to welcome the hundreds (not kidding) of trick-or-treaters that parade up and down our sidewalks. And we’ve had a blast. I am thankful for the memories we’ve created and look forward to many more. Enjoy your Halloween tonight. Please be careful out there, and remember to check the candy.

What’s your most notable Halloween memory? And what are you thankful for today?

Until next Thursday’s post…si Dios quiere.

“There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch.”
-R. Brault

“Sticky fingers, tired feet; one last house, trick or treat!”
-R. Fischer

“Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.”
M. Cooley

“When the crypt doors creak and the tombstones quake,
Spooks come out for a swinging wake.
Happy haunts materialize and begin to vocalize.
Grim grinning ghosts come out to socialize!”
-Disney’s Haunted Mansion