Happy Halloween Memories

One of my Halloween memories, from when I was a kid, was from the year I broke my arm. I was playing jumpsie at school, fell and broke both bones in my left forearm. The cast was heavy and very awkward, bent as it was with right angles at both the wrist and elbow. I went as Little Red Riding Hood, and wore a simple dress and a red hooded cape. I remember being pelted with apples by some of the boys from the neighbourhood, but that was the worst of it. I was in Grade 5, so maybe 10 years old. Times such as they were, we went out, knocking door to door, without any need of adult accompaniment. The good old days.

I wasn’t one, as an adult, to dress up for Halloween. It has never been one of my favourite holidays. But, there was this costume dance my husband and I went to, before the kids were born. I was working at the hospital so I borrowed a set of surgical scrubs for us both to wear, complete with lab coats. Wanting to be a bit more creative, we went as a famous pair of married doctors...Masters and Johnson.

Are you shaking your head in confusion? So were most of the people at the dance. But the old boy looked great, with his fake hunchback, the grey in his hair and beard. And just FYI, Masters and Johnson were famous pioneers of research from the late fifties, their topic was human sexuality. It was a bit tongue in cheek, but what the hell, it was fun.

I remember another Halloween when we were living in the country. My neighbour had these adult clown costumes and her husband and I dressed up and took the kids on a round of the village. They got candy, and at a few stops we got...adult beverages. First time I got a hangover from taking the kids door to door. We had our favourite spots to go, as country people are kind of traditional.

The general store gave out candy and cans of pop, and one friend gave homemade fudge that was so popular you had to get there early or miss out. We could trust the apples and homemade treats, because they were handed out by friends and neighbours.

I remember going door to door with my now thirteen year old granddaughter on her second Halloween, first time trick or treating. She wore a white unicorn costume, a white fuzzy coat, on the hood a sparkling horn. She was barely walking, but like most kids, she finally caught on that if she opened her bag, someone would give her candy.

There you go a scattering of memories taken from six decades of Halloween. May the goblins be good to you.