Halloween — The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
It’s not my favorite holiday, but there have been some bright moments.
As soon as I saw this writing challenge from Soul Magazine, I thought, nope, not gonna write about Halloween. It is not my favorite holiday. I turn all the lights off in the house so kids know there is no candy here.
Then I got to thinking that it hasn’t been all bad. There have been some bright moments that have made me smile. But I’ll start with the “bad-ugly” first so you’ll understand why I don’t go all out for trick-or-treating.
The Bad and The Ugly
Yeah, it was that bad and that ugly, at least for my fragile, overly sensitive ego at the time. In fact, this event colored my perception of Halloween for years to come.
It was the mid to late ’70s, and I was seriously into my hard-core, lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet. In those days, if I had a middle name, it would have been “health nut.”
My boyfriend at the time and I had heard comedian-turned-activist Dick Gregory speak at my college campus about vegetarianism as a healthy lifestyle choice, both for people and the planet. So we decided to give it a try.
For Halloween that year, I wanted to pass out some “healthy” treats. I don’t even remember what I decided on, but I couldn’t wait for the little ones to sample these nutritious, low-to-no-sugar goodies. And I figured the parents would appreciate my concern for their kids’ health.
About 30 seconds after the first group left, I heard a “thump, thump, thump” against my apartment door. When I opened it, the kids were gone but they had thrown my healthy treats back at me.
“Why those ungrateful little so-and-so’s,” I thought. “How dare they!” I picked my offerings off the floor and returned inside. That was it for me.
No more Halloween treats EVER AGAIN!
Yeah, I know. Over-reaction much? Probably, but it really put a damper on my desire to hand out Halloween treats of any kind from that point on.
The Good
Many years later, when I had a kid of my own, I decided to go trick-or-treating with my daughter and a few of her friends. Neither of us can now pinpoint exactly when this was. I know she was in her early to mid-teens and was probably a little old to be trick-or-treating. But we decided it would be fun.
As you can see from the photo, I covered my face in makeup and went as a vampire. I figured if I was going to accompany the kids around the neighborhood to make sure they were safe, I might as well go all in.
As we went from house to house, some of the parents looked at me as if I had lost it. And I could tell by their faces that a few probably thought these kids were, in fact, too old to be trick or treating. But my daughter and her friends didn’t care as long as they got as much candy as their bags could hold.
At this point in time, I was no longer a vegetarian, but I still tried to maintain a healthy diet. On the other hand, I was not going to pass up a boatload of candy. So, I had my bag out at each house we stopped at. And I’m pretty sure I consumed a lot of it.
Today, I wouldn’t mind attending a costume party and doing tarot card readings. But I still don’t pass out candy on Halloween. Some trauma never goes away.
© Patrice Walker 2023. All Rights Reserved
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