A short evening walk prompted a moment of introspection. The routine path was illuminated not only by the amber street lights that are a constant presence, but with scattered additions of orange, purple and deep red along the way. Many homes have put up their Halloween decor in preparation for this Friday's annual parade of costumed toddlers working their way door to door in an effort to match their body weight with a pillow case full of candy.
The old man in me wrestles between a forlorn and teary-eyed reminisce of his sepia-toned childhood, recollections of my own role as one of the many adults chaperoning their kids about the neighborhood sipping wine or whiskey along the way, or angrily shaking my fist in the air at the changes in society that have eroded trust, promoted commercialism, and replaced the beguine imagery of ghosts witches and skeletons with realistic severed body parts, mutilation, torture and violent terror. Not to mention the pure evil that is sugar.
Yes, I am as torn. I am old. I recall my own excitement, that of my two kids and even that of most of the reasonably aged and appropriately dressed actual children scattered amongst the scattershot others making little or no effort to respect an implied age limit and an unspoken rule that wearing your scout uniform isn't a costume. But then again, there too went I, my kids and so many others over the decades.
Maybe what's eating me is the obligation or expectation to play along regardless of all of these points.
Yet, with that all being vetted and vented, when all is said, done, sorted, and x-ray'd…, after all of the taffy, tootsie-rolls, smarties, dum-dum's, candy corn and the rest of the "grandma candy" have been sorted from the bit-sized snickers M&Ms and Reese's and get ceremonially scraped off the edge of the table and into the trash bin, there'll be a moment for every one of those kids (and teenagers) of gratitude within the gratification.
For the parents, perhaps the validation that there are lots of kind generous and welcoming neighbors and families wanting to be part of and foster a connected community. And I can get on board with that.
Not all of the homes with the shuttered windows and turned off porch lights are occupied with vigilant curmudgeons. Ours will be one of them as we go to a friend's home for a gathering and handing out candy there.
As a bonus, the next day we will hopefully get a chance to live vicariously through Jimmy Kimmel's annual "I ate your candy" segment.