A Night To Remember

They not only came in waives but more alarmingly, they came in storms. Ghosts, goblins, Spidermen, witches, extra-terrestrials, princesses, werewolves, Dracula’s, and many more disguises worn by children, teens and adults greeted me on the other side of the front door. Not a single mummy! No Frankenstein? I didn’t know a single one of them yet they were all friendly, if not shy, tricking me into giving treats in celebration of Halloween.

Year one of living in Spring Hill found a fair number of costumed partakers of sweets and treats. Years two and three were few and far between, leaving too much candy to tempt my taste buds with mouth pleasing pieces of chocolate and flavors that would get the saliva flowing from the tartness of their ingredients.

Originally, the idea of spending money and a couple hours of time opening and closing the door for a glimpse of people large and small draped in one or other pieces of cloth, plastic and, in some cases, paint didn’t fit well with my attitude. But, on the eve of Halloween, I found myself at the closest of the many Wal-Mart stores in Hernando County heading toward the “Seasonal” aisle, confused and indecisive on which of the multitude of choices that would make me a popular host to the door-to-door spooks saying “Trick or Treat”.

I decided to ask a couple of kids standing next to me what might I pick to avoid a trick. Either they didn’t quite understand my wording or they had been brought up, as they should be, leery of adults offering candy. Luck had that Mom was right there and interpreted my question in simpler words.

The boy, about 10 years old, gave an immediate response of “Airheads”. I admitted to Mom that I had no idea what they were, at which time Dad magically produced a bag of the candy for my taking. Cool, I felt the thoughtful giver for the next night’s activities. The daughter, who had been silent to my original inquiry, maintained silence with an aloof presence and drifting away. When my comment reasoned she wasn’t a candy lover, Mom assured the opposite. Still they girl, in her early teens, offered no suggestions.

I wasn’t done with Mom quite yet. In an effort to be REAL popular, I needed more input. Starburst and Skittles, which I was familiar with, immediately came to mind so in shopping cart they went, one bag with a mixture of both. As we all meandered back and forth down the candy aisle, I had to explain to Mom that it was chocolate candies that were my favorite: Snickers, Clark Bars, Reese’s, etc.

I’m sure whatever I might have picked out there wouldn’t likely be a disappointed kid with whatever I deposited in the bag but, again, I really didn’t want to disappoint the little ones. Finally, I felt at ease with the bags of candy among the groceries and personal items in the shopping cart. It wasn’t quite time to go to the checkout lane as I still had to slip a few small bags of those chocolate delights among the other treats. I have to admit it was done with guilt, not that they would be hoarded; I did some generous sharing through the late evening hours.

Yes, I had quite a pile of candies. As a last minute choice to participate in the night’s activities, I wanted to make sure I didn’t shortchange any one of the potential visitors. I not only wanted to please but be generous, and I was. There was one kid who was already so awarded with goodies that his bag was nearly full but still with room for a few more; I chose not to slight the guy. He must have been proud of take for the evening; I was hopeful that he would share his bounty but that was up to him, not me.

As a not-so-typical treat, I had a placed three Golden Delicious apples in a paper bag hoping to find the right family with a Mom and Dad there to make sure they were inspected for safety; there’s always the chance that some ghastly person would ruin the night with an item foreign to the fruit. The parents, also in costume, and two little boys seemed the perfect choice. As Dad was the last to leave me at the door, I asked for his attention with ‘Excuse me…’ and explained that I love apples as no one else in the household but when they had been purchased I failed to remember soon-to-be installed bridgework kept me from enjoying the fruit. He glanced inside the bag and commented that his boys love apples. I was thanked and felt thankful myself.

I reserved that Hanna Montana candy necklaces for the little girls and a couple of stick-ons that came with the package for the littlest of the sugar-and-spices.

The crowning moment came at the very end of my participation of the evening. No knock on the door, no ring of the doorbell. Although I faintly heard the words ‘Trick or Treat’, I felt obstinate enough that I didn’t acknowledge the threat until I heard the greeting of a light tapping on the door. The little girl was so cute in an outfit and hat of a witch that made me think she was surely the Good Witch of the South. Once the door was open, not a sound was uttered from her mouth. She gave a shy smile then turned her back toward me, perhaps wanting to share the full sight of her costume. I asked her if she had a wand and, although she didn’t respond, Mom tried to find it but with no luck She couldn’t even respond when Mom prompted her to say those three little trademark words of the night.

The shining moment for the three of us came when I handed the last of the Hanna Montana stickers to Mom so they wouldn’t get crumpled. Bright eyes and a gaping mouth gave me the crowning moment of pleasure. As it was approaching the 10 o’clock hour, I prepared to close down the candy shop, turning the outside lights off once I was assured they were safely along their way.

As dark as the night had become, there was a glow of satisfaction for the appreciation the kids showed for my efforts to make their night a successful adventure. Each time the kids walked away from the house and down the sidewalk, I demanded they ‘Have fun!’

I have no doubt they did have fun many times over and I played a bit part in their satisfaction. Yes, the kids and I had a good amount of fun!