I'm revolting against Halloween! :o
Let me explain...
I am so tired of the "politically correct" nonsense and insipid, banal, watered-down Halloween costumes that seem to dominate the landscape. I'm seeing tons of sports costumes (ie uniforms), political personages, and silly stuff like clowns, ballerinas, cowboys, as well as kids walking around in partial costumes with no masks. It's just ridiculous! Where are all the monsters? This is Halloween, after all, not a costume party! Why so few witches, vampires, ghouls, zombies, mummies, aliens, etc? Do these kids even realize that masks are part of the costume?
So, I am now awarding extra candy to those kids who practice the tradition the right way...in monster costumes! Hell, instead of candy, I may just give out a fistful of uncooked white rice to all those goofy doctors, cowboys, ballerinas, and clowns! >:D Or maybe worse yet, tell them to come back in an appropriate costume if they want a treat! :o
And what's this nonsense with trick-or-treating on the day before Halloween? No candy for those kids! And forget going to my house trick-or-treating in broad daylight as well! Go at night, when you're supposed to go!
I'm re-claiming Halloween, one trick-or-treater at a time! >:D
Amen Bro! I now what you mean!
I'll drink a toast to that, as well. I think this started in the 50s and early 60s. Not too many parents were "enlightened" about "monsters"...and the few who were, didn't let daughters get into such things. I was born in 1953 (yes...literally!), and I "trick or treated" from 1960-69. and there WERE no female monsters. Also, most people bought those (pardon me..) cheesy Ben Cooper jumpsuits made of rayon. I remember very few respectable monsters...just black rayon with a stenciled "jacket", and a half mask looking like Glenn Strange on a bad hair day.
I was lucky, because I had a mother who could sew. My last big "Hurrah" was sewing three inexpensive white sheets together on the bias, and whipping the sides together with black yarn baseball stiches. With the addition of a black "afro" wig covered with silver glitter, my own spraypainted streaks, and my mom's blood red lipstick, I was ready to go! Whole get-up cost about $5.00!
It's up to US to light our torches and take back our HOLIDAY!! This is WAR.
Elisabeth
PS...The skunk streaks are natural now.... (lol) With a "curly perm", I'd do Elsa Proud... :)
Wow Barlow..very very well said..I was actually going to start a new thread..buuuuuut since youre a step ahead I'll go ahead and vent here for a quick min:
Ok, when I was a "kid" and I say kid meaning..hmm lets say..grades K-6, Halloween was runner up only to Christmas in terms of sheer excitement and fun. I always give credit to my mom for going the extra mile for the holidays, but even then..and Im talking 1980's..other kids were doing it to.
Doing what? Well..one year I was the Incredible Hulk..painted green, with my natural red afro, dads shredded flannel and a Hulk t-shirt...while my friend was a homemade Jawa. Another year I was Dracula, the Grim Reaper, a Zombie, Freddy Kruegar...One year and this was my fave, we did my face like a skeleton, gave myself a grey wig, I had a walking cane with a silver skull ontop and mom cuffed an old suit of my dads to fit me..and that was it...what a cool ghoul of a monster!!! And ALL of my friends were doing something similar!!
Then as you get older and it was more about throwing eggs and getting a piece of candy here and there..Im gonna say maybe grades 7-9...You basically walked around with friends..egged a bus, sprayed string confetti at each other and then when you wanted to "trick or treat " a house..you put that rubber mask you got at CVS on and rang the bell.
Here is whats happening tonight..it was a rainy warm and overall nasty night. It didnt clear up till about 8 pm...I live in an apt/condo in an association that basically takes up 2 full blocks and theres 3 floors in every buidling...5 pm..no trick or treaters...6 pm I get my 1st and it was a little girl dressed as an Indian and her dad was too..very cool and cute. 7 Pm aa kid in an AWESOME outfit..basically an all black robe and on top of his head he had this giant plastic brain with eyeballs under it....he looked like somethign out of a 50's b-rated movie!! It was unique and fun and he had glow sticks hanging from him which I'm sure was for safety as well as aestethics.
By 8 and 9 pm..I had DROVES of kids now that it was clear and dry...seriously out of 20 kids..If 4 of them had any kind of costume on it would have been alot. Basically just a ton of kids in jeans and ti-shirts like "trick or treat!"...lol are you friggin kidding me?? I just spent almost 20 bux on candy and you guys arent even dressing up anymore!?!?
The best part about this whole thing is that at 32 yrs old..I have Night Of The Living Dead on the DVD..2 of my Auroras on display, next to some old "movie monster" books I put out...3 pumpkins and 2 are carved..I dont know if you remember my old avatar but that was me, and I did the same thing this year!! Dyed my hair..donned the white face paint, and skulled out my eyes, nose and teeth...threw on my very old and very spiked leather jacket..had a couple friends over for Octoberfest beers and plugged our guitars in covering Misfits songs and writing some new materal just to keep in the spirit of things...
I dont want to seem like a grumpy old man, but seriously..trick or treating with no costume..and at 10:00 pm for my bell to be ringing is to me, unacceptable and borderline obnoxious!!....I dont expect every kid to be a Zombie or shell out dough for a quality mask...but geez..could you get a little creative with a 1.99 tube of fake blood??
I dont live in bad area or anything..very suburban, lot of families of all differtn backgrounds...I just dont know whats going on, but in all seriousness..next year? Kids that dont make an effort are seriosuly getting whatever is laying on top of my garbage bag.
What, trick or treating w/no costume? That's a shame (& what's the point?). When I was a kid, selecting a costume was as much fun as trick or treating. And you're right, you don't have to shell out big $$ to have a cool costume.
This year was a letdown for us as well. I was SOOOO pumped to have this glorious day on a Saturday. Even tho we live in a small village of 18,000 I thought it would be kickin.
I spent 3 hrs on my set up of props in the window and yard. Had 3 sets of masks depending on age of the kid. I had 2 scardy cats where mom took the candy because Wicked Lester scared them,and only one crier down the street when I chased a group of kids in a ghoul mask and snarled.Total kid tally on a clear 50 degree crisp day, 36 .After dark 2. WTF is that? AAND 90% of my crowd was tween girls. >:(
Turnout was pretty light tonight. The lightest it's been in years. It was raining last year and I had twice as many kids. Weather-wise, tonight was probably the best Halloween in a long time. So where were all the kids? Maybe the weather was so good, they decided they had better things to do on a Saturday night than go trick-or-treating.
We had a good turnout tonight. Double from last year.
I also gave out extra candy to kids in scary or monster costumes.
One kid came up wearing what I thought was a cool little skeleton costume. I said, "Oh a skeleton, very cool. Here are your treats. Happy Halloween."
The young boy immediately corrected me. "I'm the Grim Reaper!" And he gave out a scary growl to prove it.
Of course, He was awared with extra candy for his performance. Awesome!
DocManj
Quote from: raycastile on November 01, 2009, 01:02:05 AM
Turnout was pretty light tonight. The lightest it's been in years. It was raining last year and I had twice as many kids. Weather-wise, tonight was probably the best Halloween in a long time. So where were all the kids? Maybe the weather was so good, they decided they had better things to do on a Saturday night than go trick-or-treating.
Same here, Ray. With the moon at 97%, weather in the 50's, and barely a breeze, we thought it would be hopping. Add to this that it was a Saturday! My wife and I made sure to personally thank all the folks that did up their yards and took the time to look at all the detail that some put into it. When we did this, they seemed pleased and some even came outside and discussed different things they set up. I hope that they keep on decorating the yards even with the poor turn out.
Quote from: Wicked Lester on October 31, 2009, 10:00:26 PM
This year was a letdown for us as well. I was SOOOO pumped to have this glorious day on a Saturday. Even tho we live in a small village of 18,000 I thought it would be kickin.
I spent 3 hrs on my set up of props in the window and yard. Had 3 sets of masks depending on age of the kid. I had 2 scardy cats where mom took the candy because Wicked Lester scared them,and only one crier down the street when I chased a group of kids in a ghoul mask and snarled.Total kid tally on a clear 50 degree crisp day, 36 .After dark 2. WTF is that? AAND 90% of my crowd was tween girls. >:(
Keep up the effort, Lester. There are some of us that appreciate it and salute you.
a lot of the kids in my neighbourhood didnt even bother to wear costumes. not even a cheapo mask. i ragged on them about it too. they just rolled thier eyes. the kids these days....................
My wife and I live in a quiet neighborhood with not very many children. We decorated the front yard as a graveyard and decorated the inside foyer of the house for the Trick or Treaters. As we sat there waiting to see if any children came at all my wife was feeling bad for me since this is my vacation from Kuwait and I was really looking forward to Halloween. My response was that if any children come at all we will give them loads of candy and appreciate them no matter how few would come. I know that kids will talk about how much fun they had at our house and spread the word so that perhaps next year it would be better.
My wife and I waited in our costumes, spooky music playing, haunted graveyard lit up and looking good when the first doorbell rang. We gave out loads of candy and the doorbell kept ringing. Parents lined up to take pictures of our graveyard and us in costume. The kids loved our house and were so happy with all we gave out. Parents asked us not to take down our decorations as we were doing late in the night because of impending rain. We were a hit.
I would never dream of shorting a child because of their costume choice. Many are influenced anyway by their parents. We had our share of witches, and spooks but each child regardless of costume received a large share of candy treats. I am sure next year our house will be their favorite destination for Halloween. It seems the parents enjoyed our efforts as much as the kids did. Win their hearts and minds works every time.
I was truly greatful for every child and even took over two bags we prepared special for some neighbor older kids who were too old to trick or treat. They were very appreciative to receive something also.
My wife and my love for Halloween was contagious to the whole neighborhood and we can anticipate great things for the future.
I read another thread on here about "worst" treat anyone received for Halloween and a potato seemed to be the main one. Well, I love potatoes and would have taken it home and baked it. Many said they threw them back and even broke a poor woman's window. I guess no one ever thought that perhaps this woman was indeed poor and wanted to give something out to participate. My wife used to receive apples from some Amish folks who do not even celebrate Halloween but were kind enough not to refuse a childs Trick or Treat. I applaud those Amish folks and their efforts.
Kindness and generosity wins more hearts than being mean and hurtful to a child that does not understand why one kid gets loads of good candy and they do not. They do not understand a person's love for monsters and Halloween. They just do what comes to them with their parents influence.
Since I wore my "spooky" Victorian costume and did lots of spooky things for the kids and they thought it was fun, cool and exciting I am quite certain that I have influenced them for upcoming years to want to dress like that "cool" guy with the "cool" house that they had so much fun at.
We are shaping memories for future generations and are responsible for those memories good or bad. There are many ways to hurt a child not just physically and I would never dream myself of doing anything but offering them a fun time that will live in their memories long after I am gone.
Quote from: Wolf Man on November 01, 2009, 09:57:24 AM
My wife and I live in a quiet neighborhood with not very many children. We decorated the front yard as a graveyard and decorated the inside foyer of the house for the Trick or Treaters. As we sat there waiting to see if any children came at all my wife was feeling bad for me since this is my vacation from Kuwait and I was really looking forward to Halloween. My response was that if any children come at all we will give them loads of candy and appreciate them no matter how few would come. I know that kids will talk about how much fun they had at our house and spread the word so that perhaps next year it would be better.
My wife and I waited in our costumes, spooky music playing, haunted graveyard lit up and looking good when the first doorbell rang. We gave out loads of candy and the doorbell kept ringing. Parents lined up to take pictures of our graveyard and us in costume. The kids loved our house and were so happy with all we gave out. Parents asked us not to take down our decorations as we were doing late in the night because of impending rain. We were a hit.
I would never dream of shorting a child because of their costume choice. Many are influenced anyway by their parents. We had our share of witches, and spooks but each child regardless of costume received a large share of candy treats. I am sure next year our house will be their favorite destination for Halloween. It seems the parents enjoyed our efforts as much as the kids did. Win their hearts and minds works every time.
I was truly greatful for every child and even took over two bags we prepared special for some neighbor older kids who were too old to trick or treat. They were very appreciative to receive something also.
My wife and my love for Halloween was contagious to the whole neighborhood and we can anticipate great things for the future.
I read another thread on here about "worst" treat anyone received for Halloween and a potato seemed to be the main one. Well, I love potatoes and would have taken it home and baked it. Many said they threw them back and even broke a poor woman's window. I guess no one ever thought that perhaps this woman was indeed poor and wanted to give something out to participate. My wife used to receive apples from some Amish folks who do not even celebrate Halloween but were kind enough not to refuse a childs Trick or Treat. I applaud those Amish folks and their efforts.
Kindness and generosity wins more hearts than being mean and hurtful to a child that does not understand why one kid gets loads of good candy and they do not. They do not understand a person's love for monsters and Halloween. They just do what comes to them with their parents influence.
Since I wore my "spooky" Victorian costume and did lots of spooky things for the kids and they thought it was fun, cool and exciting I am quite certain that I have influenced them for upcoming years to want to dress like that "cool" guy with the "cool" house that they had so much fun at.
We are shaping memories for future generations and are responsible for those memories good or bad. There are many ways to hurt a child not just physically and I would never dream myself of doing anything but offering them a fun time that will live in their memories long after I am gone.
Post of the day! :)
Well Done, Wolfman! I'm sure you'll have lots of guests next year. BTW welcome back stateside!
As for the rest of you guys: I don't know what part of the planet you reside in, but here in the wilds of Spokanistan, we had more than our share of ghoulish guests. Two "Freddy Krugers;" seven "Screams;" five or six witches (one may have returned with friends); eight "Draculas;" I don't know how many extras from "Night of the Living Dead;" plus some assorted cowboys, princesses, vampires, ghosts; the whole band "Kiss" as portrayed by eight year olds; and one who I swear looked like Doctor Shocker! The malls were not as full of trick or treaters than the last few years, but then it was the warmest Halloween in about 20 years.
I have to admit there were few masks. But the local police and fire departments have recommended makeup over masks because of better visibility. The only thing I have noticed that may have been anywhere more "PC" than the early '60s when I was a kid is the lack of ethnic stereotype costumes.
The Holiday is what you make it. Praise and reward the kids that make an effort and they'll remember it till they're old like me. Act like a jerk to those that did not, and they'll remember that too.
Wolfman, I cannot agree more. My own childhood is a perfect example. My first costume at the age of 5 was a storebought Bugs Bunny. My second was as a Sleeping Beauty and I didn't start having scary costumes until 8 years of age with a black cat costume and later, my ghost. If I got less candy than a kid dressed as a vampire it would have made my Halloweens less fun! And I was a Monster Lovin' child, a devoted viewer of Shock Theater and collector of Monster stickers, The Munsters and Milton the Monster comic books and Jack Davis monster cards.
Halloween was a big event for us and I feel that it was one of many shaping forces toward my becoming a dedicated classic horror film person and author today. All adults who encouraged me and supported me, including those who gave out stuff at Trick or Treat, played their role. It is thus for the little kids of today. Their trick or treat bags are now fuzzy cloth instead of paper now and they wear Power Rangers outfits instead of Bugs Bunny costumes but the magic is there for them with our help.
At my previous house, we used to get TONS of kids. We'd basically sit on the porch from 6 to 9 and hand out treats non-stop. The first year we lived there, we were completely unprepared for the huge number of kids; when the candy ran out, we were handing out granola bars, gum, even baseball cards!
A lot of the kids were being driven into the neighborhood by their families. It turned out that the vast majority were coming from out of town - in fact, from a very underprivileged area. Most had no costume at all. My first reaction was like, why are they coming all the way out here? But it was all put into perspective when one mom thanked us and said that it was nice that her kids had some place safe to trick or treat. After that, I felt like such a jerk. I never thought twice again about the lack of costumes or the huge numbers of kids. We got really into Halloween each year, with lots of decorations (we even dressed up the dogs!). The kids really seemed to appreciate all the stuff and we felt really good about making them happy.
We had a low turn out as well. It rained earlier in the day, but it turned out to be a beautiful fall night during trick r treat time. It got to the point I was starting to think we would have no trick r treaters!
The first bell rang around 7:15 during Dracula and we jumped up. The kids all had costumes, some monsters, Transformers, Comic Book characters, Princesses and angels. Hey they had costumes and they came out so it was all good. We gave each kid big handfuls of Snickers.
One thing I noticied was how small the amount of candy each kid had. We were the only house decorated on the block and all the kids had parents driving them. I felt bad for them when I would remember I would get half a pillowcase full of chocolate goodness!
After years of disappointing Halloweens, I've decided everyday except Oct. 31 is Halloween.
It's really weird how our experiences and turn outs were way different from each other. Our official TRT hours were 2-6 pm. I had a couple 10 or 12 Y.O boys hit me up before noon as I was setting stuff up.
I live on a side street so around 5pm or so I went around the block to my backyard neighbors who are the highlite of the area. They had 2x as many kids as us. Don't kids know about actually walking AROUND a block? Anyway that is where I had fun chasing a group of kids down the street with a ghoul/zombie mask on. By 6pm it was dead as a tomb.
Next year since it is on a Sunday I am doing more outdoor stuff. Sticking with solely my front bay window and doing more theatrics. The kids love the interaction but I can get a bit carried away on this and have had kids crying down my driveway. >:D As long as I don't get parents too angry (I have had my house boycotted by a few families with small kids for disturbing outside props) or get egged it's all good.
Quote from: Inkfink on November 01, 2009, 04:48:49 PM
After years of disappointing Halloweens, I've decided everyday except Oct. 31 is Halloween.
Well said. Basically I celebrate Classic Monster goodness and horror/sci-fi/fantasy in one way or another almost every day!! I keep thinking everyone else on the "outside" is gonna catch up to me on Halloween.
Halloween turn-out was pretty poor and disappointing around here as well, far less kids than ever. The few that did come around were mostly Disney Princess' and superheroes, less than ten monster related costumes this year. No one else decorated houses anywhere to be seen either. I was disheartened with the way this Halloween went, like my favorite day of the year was stolen. I can't remember a more depressing Halloween ever, every year it seems like the holiday is dissapearing forever more and more. At least I have the memories of the great way Halloween was celebrated when I was a kid in the seventies.
P.S. - Three cheers for the Wolf Man. Thanks for your efforts to keep our monster holiday alive and kicking so well in your area, your post made me feel better about how sorry things turned out around here. You made me ~ sniff ~ proud, way to go fur ball. :)
Quote from: CreepysFan on November 01, 2009, 09:59:19 PM
Halloween turn-out was pretty poor and disappointing around here as well, far less kids than ever. The few that did come around were mostly Disney Princess' and superheroes, less than ten monster related costumes this year. No one else decorated houses anywhere to be seen either. I was disheartened with the way this Halloween went, like my favorite day of the year was stolen. I can't remember a more depressing Halloween ever, every year it seems like the holiday is dissapearing forever more and more. At least I have the memories of the great way Halloween was celebrated when I was a kid in the seventies.
Keep your chin up and your spirit alive, Creeps. My two kiddos really enjoyed the houses that went the extra mile. I bet a number of those super heroes and princesses were talking about your house hours after the candy was sorted and who knows, one or two may be future monster fans due to your efforts and all those here and not that made Halloween more special.
Quote from: Barlow on October 31, 2009, 07:19:30 PM
I'm revolting against Halloween! :o
Let me explain...
I am so tired of the "politically correct" nonsense and insipid, banal, watered-down Halloween costumes that seem to dominate the landscape. I'm seeing tons of sports costumes (ie uniforms), political personages, and silly stuff like clowns, ballerinas, cowboys, as well as kids walking around in partial costumes with no masks. It's just ridiculous! Where are all the monsters? This is Halloween, after all, not a costume party! Why so few witches, vampires, ghouls, zombies, mummies, aliens, etc? Do these kids even realize that masks are part of the costume?
So, I am now awarding extra candy to those kids who practice the tradition the right way...in monster costumes! Hell, instead of candy, I may just give out a fistful of uncooked white rice to all those goofy doctors, cowboys, ballerinas, and clowns! >:D Or maybe worse yet, tell them to come back in an appropriate costume if they want a treat! :o
And what's this nonsense with trick-or-treating on the day before Halloween? No candy for those kids! And forget going to my house trick-or-treating in broad daylight as well! Go at night, when you're supposed to go!
I'm re-claiming Halloween, one trick-or-treater at a time! >:D
Its sad that its so neutered, The designated hours where I live are only 3-6, right when it starts to get dark!
Quote from: Inkfink on November 01, 2009, 04:48:49 PM
After years of disappointing Halloweens, I've decided everyday except Oct. 31 is Halloween.
Thats how Ive always thought :D
This was the second year in a row with a dismal turnout for Halloween in my neighborhood. When my daughter was little, the whole neighborhood was active with groups of kids trick or treating. I think part of the problem is that there's fewer young kids in this part of town than there used to be. Also, one of my neighbors used to be known for doing large outdoor displays for the holiday, but their home was burned in January and is still not fully renovated, so they had no display this year to draw large crowds. Also, the last couple of years someone's been vandalizing and stealing parts of their display, which is mostly why I've refrained from setting up anything in my yard. I was disappointed in the turnout, but made sure to give extra candy to the few kids who did show up.
I did get a chuckle out of a couple of young kids who were afraid of my Dracula blowmold. I set him up indoors so he's looking out my front window, and I think they weren't quite sure from a distance if he was real or not ;)
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3287/2966274027_32dffb28e2_b.jpg)
George
I just want to go on record that I personally have NO problem with what the kids are dressing up as...its the kids who werent dressing up at all that I have an issue with!
Hey some kids like Frankenstein, and some kids like Princesses or whatever...thats fine!! Keeping in the spirit of fun and innocence of Halloween is dressing up! To whatever a kid's heart desires!...Personally, I like monsters and stuff..but if a kid wants to be a Disney charecter or whatever..its all good, dress up and have fun!
The big problem that I have was the 15 yr old kids in jeans in a t-shirt that rang my bell at 10 pm...that is ridiculous!!!..
Regardless of what the kids dressed as, kudos to them and their parents! For everyone else...seriously, next year, no costume no candy...if you werent gonna dress up or atleast pretend to care about it...go to another door!
Our neighborhood doesn't have many kids at all, so we go to my sister's house because she has TONS of them coming over. My wife dressed as a witch, my son was Freddy Krueger, and I was Teenage Frankenstein this year. She has several full size animatronic figures so it's easy to scare people who think you're just another one of those. Freddy stood on the porch and pretended to be a fake animatron but suddenly came to life. Meanwhile, I was a statue in the yard, off in the shadows next to a tree, but when they went up on the porch and were getting candy and then being scared by Freddy, I would amble up behind them and as they turned away and ran screaming from Freddy they ran right into me and sheer terror frequently ensued. Some ran and ran and didn't look back. Some came back for a closer look from a distance. Most all of them had costumes and many were elaborate. It was a good night. I brought Trick r Treat and Let the Right One In along and my sister, her friend, and my mother watched those and loved them both. They usually avoid "scary movies" so that was another success.
Wicked sweet, well done Toy Ranch. Sounds like you've given another generation some great Halloween memories. And BlackLagoon, you are right. It's the spirit, not the costume choice that's important. Thanks for pointing that out to me. The posts on this thread have rekindled my faith in our holiday, and maybe if I decorate even earlier next year, maybe I can inspire this neighbor hood around here to get with it.
Quote from: hammerfan on November 01, 2009, 09:28:58 AM
a lot of the kids in my neighbourhood didnt even bother to wear costumes. not even a cheapo mask. i ragged on them about it too. they just rolled thier eyes. the kids these days....................
I've heard stories about the kids coming up to the door and sayin," Are you doin' this or what?" Can you imagine that? And then what happens if you tell the little creeps to get lost? Sad, Sad, Sad. and the worst part is that so many of these kids have never known any different, Parents and municipalities have been so spazzy about it for so long now...
Unfortunately, as in the last few Halloweens, the build-up to my favorite holiday is more exiciting than the actual day. The hours here in Lafayette had no time limit, although the authorities suggested kids 12 & under be home by 9 pm. Still, only ONE little trick or treater showed up at our door. Needless to say, the little witch recieved a huge amount of Reese' Cups, Snickers, suckers & pretzles from us.
The rest of the evening was a non-event.
Hardly anyone did anything halloweeny in our area this year,it was so disappointing.Regarding the way halloween costumes have gone these days,i despair at all the junk people,especially celebrities,wear.Wonder Woman,Drag Queens,Kinky Fetish Outfits... Urrgh!!
I am saddened to read so many lackluster Hallowe'en tales; things do seem to be going in a weird direction where ToT'ing and costuming is concerned. What a disheartening drag.
Still, I am glad to report the continuing and growing success of the numerous local haunts in my area (mine included) so at least in the Springfield/Branson/NW AR Ozarks region, Hallowe'en is not only alive but thriving... but I get depressed if I think too long about the areas where Hallowe'en is being undermined and fizzling out.
Hallowe'en is just about every day for me, as it surely must be for most of us here. The more we all keep trying and keep Hallowe'en alive in our own homes and families/friends, the better things will get on The Big Night each year... I mean, back 16 years ago, there weren't many homes out here that did anything fun for the kids and grown-ups, but for the last decade it's grown like crazy. It can happen... don't despair!
Here's to a happier, scarier Hallowe'en for everyone in the years to come.
And hey... my 1,000th post. Funny!
Mike C, I'll drink to that... and to your 1,000th post!