2003-10-05 - 11:09 a.m.

Exterior Illumination

I don't know why, but though Halloween is a huge adult party night, a large part of me still enjoys the wholesomeness of just staying at home and handing out candy after tricking the youngsters. Yes, I said "wholesome". Kids need to learn some fear.

One of my favorite memories of my kid brother was from one of his first Halloweens. I was collecting candy with my older friends, and he was with my sister and her friends. I was unescorted, but there were adults with them. Anyway, we were already on our way down the same block they were working up when we came to a house were a high school kid jumped out of the door and screamed wearing a gorilla mask.

It did nothing for us. "Gimme some candy now ape face!"

But when we were at the end of the block (and we hit every house, lights or no, strangers or not), my kid brother was going up to the door of the gorilla house. I knew it would be classic, so I pulled my friends across the street so we could get a better view looking down the street.

They went up to the door. They rang the doorbell. Seconds later we saw my brother turn and run. Minutes later he passed us running straight home. Seconds after that came one of the neighbor dads trying to catch him. My brother was a fast bugger as a kid, and a big chicken.

Today I'm torn about home much exterior illumination I will put out. For Halloween I prefer my lights to be spooky eyes and hard to see. The idea isn't to turn Halloween into an orange Christmas. The idea is that the month belongs to ghosts and owls and things that live for night, like me!

n.p. plastic noise experience :: neural transmission

-=-

<< previous - next >>