I'm an old man now.  My days of "trick or treating" are far, far behind me.  But, those days were filled with excitement as I recall.  I couldn't wait to get out of school, get my costume and mask ready for the Halloween trick or treating that night.  Those were some fun times as a child.  Of course, I didn't think how much fun it was back then.  I just wanted the candy.  But, Halloween was always the start of the holiday season. Halloween was always mysterious to me.  I could never understand what the rationale was to dress up like ghosts, witches and monsters, promise not to "trick" a house if we got a "treat."  I was one studious kid who tried to figure out things.  But, my misgivings about Halloween never stopped me from enjoying every Halloween all the way up to my 14th birthday.  After that, I just sort of lost interest.  Of course, then I had to take my siblings trick or treating on Halloween.  I hated doing that for some reason.  Maybe it was my way of rebelling against growing older.  But, I did my duty as the eldest on Halloween.  Eventually, my siblings grew too old for this passage in childhood also. 

The Halloween I remember most was when I was 10 years old.  Back in those days, everyone went all out for Halloween, unlike today when people turn out their lights to indicate they don't participate in Halloween.  We went to big house with a lot of cars parked around it.  Apparently, there was a Halloween Party for adults going on in this house.  We rang the doorbell and a man dressed in a skeleton outfit greeted us.  "Come on in, kids.  Go around the table and grab one of each in the bowls," the man said.  It was all kinds of candy there.  Snicker bars, payday, that corn candy I love even today and just about every kind of candy you can imagine in 1961.  There were about 15 bowls of candy on this one table.  Before we left, the skeleton man gave us each a candied apple.  Most of us dropped them on the way to trick or treat other homes.  But, that was probably the best Halloween night I can remember.  I had three bags of candy to tote home that night. We didn't get home until after 10PM, which antagonized my mother to no end.

Of course, it is dangerous to let kids go trick or treating in this day and time.  People will kill children if they get the chance on Halloween.  If I had kids today, I would not let them go trick or treating.  I'd take them to a church "Fall Festival" or to the mall.  That's sad when you think about it.  Children today still go trick or treating.  But, they do so with close supervision of an adult.  At least, that is what should be done on Halloween tonight.  Watch your kids tonight, parents.