Halloween in the South
I hope that I didn't indicate in a previous post that I was anti-Halloween. On the contrary, I'm all for it. But Halloween in the South has been an experience unlike any other. People here don't seem to understand the rules of Halloween engagement:
1) Kids don't always dress up in costumes. In fact, most of the time they're just in regular street clothes, holding a pillow case (or garbage sack, or grocery cart).
2) Grown men and women go trick-or-treating. Tonight, I had my share of 30+ year-olds who came to the door demanding candy. When I said to one man that he looked a little old to be trick-or-treating, he stammered, "Well..... I'm with my daughter." That's no excuse! Dude, you're 40-- go to the store and buy yourself some candy!
3) Some people don't get that if the porch light is off and no pumpkin is present, the home in question is not open for business. When John and I got back from campus tonight, he had a conference call immediately and I had to walk the dog. The outside lights were off and only one light was on in the whole house. Nevertheless, some kid came and rang the doorbell three times. Then, when an adult at the end of the driveway pointed out that nobody was home, the kid screamed, "Whaddya mean?!? The light's on!" and then wham wham wham, he proceeded to bang on the door.
Truth be told, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't thrilled when the last of the candy trotted off down our driveway. You gotta love the South.