When Halloween
was just plain fun

The joys of Halloweens past remain vivid even in my middle years. I remember the red-and-white clown costume my mother made one year and the special bags of expensive sweets Mrs. Hayashi next door prepared for us. I remember how the rascally boy who lived down the street would stuff wet gobs of toilet paper into a neighbor's mailbox because she never gave us treats. I remember jostling along holding cardboard jack-o-lanterns fitted with candles to light our way. I remember how we'd spread our treasure of collected candies across the living room floor to separate the chocolates from the lollipops and gum balls.

Those Halloweens are no more. Even before September 11, parents were wary of letting their kids roam the streets at twilight. Now the definable dangers -- drunken drivers, tainted treats, sexual predators -- are further crowded by the unknowns.

As the years have passed, fewer and fewer children have come to my door on October 31. I don't expect there will be many this Halloween. Still, I'll have the Hershey bars and the lollipops, the M&Ms and Raisinets ready and I'll wait in hopes of hearing little voices chanting, "Trick or treat!"

--Cynthia Oi

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