Eerie Dark

Last night was Hallowe'en night. Used to be a kid's night but now it's adult party time. And when the adults, those who remember the true Hallowe'en of the past, tire of the "fun" of dressing up in their elaborate costumes for yet another reason to indulge, will Hallowe'en disappear? I regress - into the comforting past once more. In the "old days" when there was such a thing as trust and no fear of releasing kids into the real world at night, we looked forward to Hallowe'en more than Christmas. It was when we didn't care as much as our parents did about the costumes as now. We thought only of sugar plums dancing in our heads. Ahh, those candies, piles of them and watching out for razor blades in apples, an idea that sent shivers up our spines but that never, never happened. The rich people on the corner in the mansion, gave out small chocolate bars for which we had to sing or recite something in their vast foyer. Some kids devised ways of wickedly going back to those houses twice. Most were caught red handed and scolded later by their embarrassed folks. A few, as we thought then, over-protective parents went along with the small groups of children, but usually the big kids looked out after the little ones. The truth was, if they went along with the smaller children they were sure to get  treats in their sacks, too. It was their childhood rite-of-passage way of easing out of Hallowe'en because high school loomed with all of its reputational demands. Everyone had firecrackers and the braver kids even had punks to light them. I suppose they were dangerous but since they were, we were careful. Kids have a lot more sense than parents give them credit for. There were some accidents somewhere of course, but they happen now, too, likely at the same rate. It was a grand night full of excitement and thrills when dad's went out into back yards and popped off the bigger, scarier mini bombs and exotic fireworks that mostly fizzled. In our rooms that night, we emptied the candies on the floor by our beds and sorted them. What lay there was, to us, treasure in all its glory. We scooped up and tossed the trove laughing in complete joy. These delights could be traded at recess next day or devoured secretly or saved like Silas Marner to gaze upon until we couldn't help eating them one by one. A few kids courageously doled out the grand collection of colourfully wrapped goodies miserly, some lasting almost until dreams of Christmas began. But here and now, last night was like any other night, no firecrackers popping into the darkness or happy shouts of kids roving the neighbourhoods. In fact, where are the kids these days? Don't see them on the sidewalks any more. And will Hallowe'en appear on the calendar next year?