Hallowe'en...or All Hallow's Eve. In America, it is traditionally the day when children dress up in costumes fanciful or scary, and go knocking from door to door in hope of getting treats.
This is how it was back in the Dark Ages (the 60's and 70's--that's the 1960's and 1970's, for all you smart alecks out there!), and that's how it should be today, but...
The past few years, we've had older teenagers come to the door wearing nothing but the typical hooded sweatshirt (hoodie) with maybe a heavier jacket over it, depending on the weather. Last year, I asked one of these non-costumed goody-grubbers what he was supposed to be, and without missing a beat he said, "Troubled youth." I give him points for his quick and inventive answer, and he walked away with treats in his goody bag.
But more and more I see teens--and even younger children--out 'trick or treating' with no attempt at a costume. This year, one of the hooded goody-grubbers came to the door, my wife gave him a couple of treats (just because she didn't want our car or house egged later), and he had the gall to ask for a couple of treats for his friend, a girl who was out on the main sidewalk, uncostumed, riding a bike with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. I would have said no, but my wife gave in to her fear and intimidation.
What is happening? Everyone is out for the goodies, but they don't want to make the effort to 'earn' them by using some creativity to come up with a costume. I guess that's the way everything has become in our country--everyone wants something for nothing.
But, as the saying goes, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."
I can tell you this: eggs or no eggs, intimidation or not, if someone comes to my door next year sans costume, they will get a 'trick', not a treat.
So parents, you need to realize that we are losing so many traditions these days to laziness and sloth…this one’s easy to keep, so make sure that your children are costumed before they go out trick-or-treating, or keep them home.
And so it goes...
1 comment:
Maybe you should post a sign on your fence that says "You will be rewarded according to the originality of your costume. No costume, no treats."
Then, sit and watch them, taking pictures of the potential eggers for later use.
The Halloween of our youth has been taken away from our kids, so let's make sure to salvage what little we can of the spirit, the fun of trick-or-treating.
Post a Comment