No Tricks ... No Treats ... No School???

It was the oddest Halloween night yet.

Of course downtown Main St., area schools and nursing facilities advertised open houses for trick-or-treaters this evening, but we always get at least 20 kids at our door before the "big kids" start their haunt.

However, the Halloween night of 2009 has gone down in our family's history as a giant bust, as not one trick-or-treater made their way to our door. Stretch even condescended to wear a costume so we could greet those who came in style. But our entire area was quiet - almost too quiet, if you ask me.

Yes, the Halloween of 2009 proved to be very strange from the get-go, as school districts chose to cancel class on the 30th, just to avoid dealing with the costume parade and class parties. Even typing this makes my eyes roll as I shake my head. That's absolutely nuts! (and I'm a teacher, too.) Had I been in charge of the world, I would not have hidden from the day. Rather, I would have sent / e-mailed / announced to students / parents / staff alike that there would be no celebrations, parties, et al, on that day, then hold a regular school day.

Another difference about this Halloween night was the stillness and beauty. Twice, Stretch and I ventured outdoors, to peer up one street and down another, searching / expecting to see wandering trick-or-treaters. Instead of the usual Halloween weather that forces most costumed kids to bundle up in coats / scarves, we were treated (by Ma Nature) to clear dark skies dotted with stars and a full bright moon that lit the yard, and temps unusually warm (but very welcome) in the 50s.

Despite the summer-like night, the streets were dark and barren. And no excited voices escaped high-strung children galloping from door-to-door.

So, instead of jumping up to greet the little treaters and ooh and ahh at spooks and witches and fairy princesses, we treated the family to take-out from our favorite Italian diner; then, settled in to watch television ("eye candy" as architect Frank Lloyd Wright described it). With each commercial break we switched back-n-forth between NCIS' gruesome episodes and cheering for the local college football team (who won their road game).

I guess trick-or-treating is never going to be the happy, carefree activity it was when I was a kid, some XYZ years ago, and for that, I feel bad. It was fun planning costumes and borrowing your father's overalls or your sister's poodle skirt and Jantzen sweater! And trick-or-treating meant going out with all your friends and sometimes having to stop by your house and empty your sack so you could visit everyone's home in the neighborhood. No one competed or played tricks. And you always tried to get to some people's houses first, 'cuz it was a well-known fact that they had the best stuff -- everything from decorations to mini bread loaves, hot apple cider and doughnuts, or mini-haunted houses you had to traverse before getting your treat.

Fredrich Neitzsche wrote, "Life must be lived forward in order to be remembered backward." On this early November 1st, 2009, I can honestly state that I am grateful for my childhood memories of carefree days when kids could just be themselves and everyone in the neighborhood pulled together and encouraged their successes. We didn't throw tantrums or sue if life didn't go our way or we didn't get a turn in church or school; we understood on some more mature level that all of life would not be fair to us every minute of every day and we dealt with it. We saw the Big picture that seems to allude the majority nowadays: if you wanted something you worked hard for it. No one was foolish enought to expect success to fall in his lap or have it handed to him, the way so many do today. If you didn't behave, you didn't get a turn to do the fun things or help out. Today, everyone has to have a turn, regardless; and no one can be left out.

I think society's thinking on this is messed up, as life is not, as Neal A. Maxwell said, "a series of green lights". Life is not fair and one should not simply be handed the keys to the executive washroom or get a turn or win top honors simply because he is next in line or hasn't had a turn to experience such a thing! In order to experience good, each must also experience bad. Opposition in all things.

Each person's abilities, experiences, and knowledge make him what he is. How terribly dull and monotonous society would be if each had the same offers, experiences, successes, and knowledge base! We would be clones of each other and have nothing special or unique to offer each other or the world. Nor would there be much purpose, drive, challenge, or joy in our lives--as, to know the good, one must experience and understand the bad. Opposition, like change, is not always welcome nor desired; yet, Opposition, like Change, is a very good teacher.

So, farewell Halloween of 2009! Though our candy bowl remains full (there's a positive and a negative!), the streets empty, and the weather perfect, I can honestly state I am grateful to have experienced such an odd, quiet night, as it allowed me time to reflect on sweet Halloweens of carefree days.