Halloween 2003

     Background: I don't know why Halloween has a fascination for me, expect for the fact that I "appreciate" having it as a holiday in the United States, when it's not observed elsewhere in the world. In Brazil, it's known as "Dia das bruches" (Day of the witches), but there are no activities held like there are in the U.S.    
     This isn't one of my better columns, but it seemed only approprate to post this as one of my first entries, considering it's the ten-year anniversary since this column initially appeared in Sutherlin's North County News.

     Halloween marks the beginning of when an endless stream of holiday deocrations come out of storage, and take their places greeting the public through the winter months. A small bust of Darth Vader has guarded our front door each Halloween since 1981. His eyes and light saber flicker a variety of colors, as three Christmas lights inside blink one and off. Well, at least it seemed cool when I purchased it my freshman year during ana FFA trip to the PI convention in Portland. Not bad for a $5.00 investment that still works after twenty years!
     But Halloween just isn't what it used to be. (Forgive the Andy Rooney sarcasm.) Christmas used to be the only time when people decorated their houses with lights. That was before the greeting card companies and other merchandisers created a demand for Halloween lights. (At least my Darth Vader was a handmade decoration, not a mass-produced item.)
     In my Halloween heydey, we'd set aside a day to spread out newspapers on the floor, pull out the gushy insides of a pumpkin, and carve jack-o-lanterns. House decorations included one-dimensional store-bought cut-outs of skeletons, witches, black cats, and scarecrows. BORING!
     Today, people no longer need get their hands dirty with pumpkin slime. We now have Halloween lights to string around the house. And an artificial lighted pumplin eliminates the muss-n-fuss of carving your own.
     But don't let me sound critical of others. I perfectly understand why jack-o-lanterns are gradually becoming extinct. Our family lost plenty of pumpkins over the years. No matter how close we put the jack-o-lanterns next to the front door, they'd inevitably disappear. We'd discover their remains the following morning, strewn over several blocks in front of our house.
     Usually, the pumpkin bandits escaped without punishment. But occasionally justice would prevail. Such as the year when some genius unleashed a large pumpkin down high school hill (Fifth Street). The unrestrained gourd gained momentum rolling down two blocks of street before crashing into a car. Fortunately, the Oakland City Police were nearby and cited the juvenile for destruction of property.
     Yes indeed, Oakland used to be a happening place Halloween night. As many as six Oakland City Police officers and  reserves would patrol the streets in three different vehicles. One year, my older brother and his friend grabbed two pillowcases and solicited candy from every house in town before returning with their stash. Sixty-five or seventy trick-or-treaters would come to our house begging for candy. This year, only fifteen came to our door.
     A few years back, I thought Halloween in Oakland needed a gimmick to revitalize trick-or-treating interest among children. So one year I answered the door with a pet red-tail draped around my neck. But after waiting 30-45 minutes between visits by trick-or-treaters, even my snake got bored with the (in)action.
     Perhaps a different kind of candy would bring trick-or-treaters on the run? No more of those boring snickers bars or cheap candy necklaces to hand out. After sorting through the Oriental Trading Company Halloween candy catalog, I found just the thing: bottle caps and candy corn! Who could resist those long-forgotten candies?
     But a different kind of candy didn't bring them on the run either. This year in desperation, I found the perfect novelty item to hand out Halloween night: plastic glow-in-the-dark handcuffs! Future years will determine whether a novelty toy will increase the number of trick-or-treaters at our door. But I doubt it.
     Going from sixty-five to fifteen trick-or-treaters during the past twenty years, people can read what they want to from statistics. Perhaps fewer children are soliciting candy from strangers, because they're having to do just that....go to the doors of strangers. I believe fewer people know their neighbors and "who's who" in their community than in years past.
     Or, as an offshoot of that, perhaps children are finding safer things to do Halloween even? Numerous churches host harvest festivals that feature free treats without the tricks. And some local schools now host Halloween activities during the early evening. I'm still trying to figure out why some believe it's unconstitutional to have Halloween or Christmas parties during shcool schools, but it's perfectly legal to have school-sanctioned holiday acitivites on public property during the evening. But that's a topic for another column.
     Or perhaps Darth Vader is just scaring too many youngsters away. But don't worry; Darth will always have a place on the windowsill!