Happy Freakin' Halloween, y'all.

GaryKelly · Post by **GaryKelly** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:04 am

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wilt ... 104514.stm

Calne's just down the road a tad from Swindon. When "Trick or Treat" crossed the pond a while ago, the local yobbery soon latched on to the premise of demanding money and/or goods with menaces.

It's strange really. On this side of the great divide, parents spend 364 days of the year telling kids never to talk to strangers or to take sweets from strangers, but on the evening of the 31st October boot the blighters out of the house in the dark and tell 'em to go and do both.

Bit like Guy Fawkes Night, which is only a few days away... all year spent teaching kiddiwinks not to play with fire or matches, and then on that one night, shoving red-hot bits of fiery metal into a terrified child's hands while insisting it's "fun". Strange.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:35 am

emmline wrote: I'm pretty low key compared to some folks around here. So far the TorT head count has been low. Brad--wish I could send you extra M&Ms.
You better turn off your lights and look not-home, which is what I'll do before 9 when the adult-sized-kids-who-should-really-know-better start turning up.

I usually sit on the front porch in some kind of renaissance-themed costume playing the whistle.

Highlight of the evening: A very nice lady escorting about six 7ish-year-old kids showed up, and asked me to keep playing--I usually stop so I can say "happy halloween" and "your welcome" and the other socially necessary conversation. Anyway, she stood up there near the candy bowl listening, making the kids she was escorting have to crowd past her to get the candy one at a time...when they were all done, she actually looked torn about staying to listen to me and going with them to the next house. She finally said "Well...I guess I have to go.." and went back down the front walk, looking over her shoulder occasionally as she went. What a hoot!

My favorite trick-or-treaters are the shy 2-4 year olds who are just a little overwhelmed by the whole affair

I noticed this year, there were few kids saying "Trick or treat!"...usually it was "Happy halloween" Did I miss some kind of political correctness purging of the threat of a trick?

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:42 am

GaryKelly wrote:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wilt ... 104514.stm

The article says "A number of small fires were lit and fireworks set off. Eggs were thrown at police, buildings, cars and passers-by."

Wow, that's pretty tame. When I was a kid in the 1960s in the suburbs north of New York City, Halloween was scary and violent -- in addition to eggs, shaving cream, etc. kids threw rocks and bricks and sprayed Nair at other kids (a chemical used to remove hair from women's legs). And sick people were putting razor blades into the cupcakes that they gave out to trick-or-treaters. It was that kind of stuff that killed Halloween.

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:52 am

Nearly every incident of candies being tampered with, pins or razor blades in apples, etc. in this town have occurred on my street ... well, for at least as long as I've lived here, anyway.

djm

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:53 am

I'm glad everyone had a nice or semi nice Halloween. My wife worked and I went over to my inlaws to wash some clothes since my washer is broken. No trick-or-treaters.

NEVER MIND

Bradhurley Dude! You should have parcelled out her CDs and other stuff to the trick or treaters as compensation.

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 8:34 am

Flyingcursor wrote:Walden She liked you man!!! Let the music do the talking. Play Misty for her. She'll be putty in your hands. Of course I haven't tried to play Misty on a whistle.

I think you mean Wanderer, Fly! (and I believe he's spoken for.)

Whistlin'Dixie wrote:
emmline wrote:when the adult-sized-kids-who-should-really-know-better start turning up.
Awww...... Everybody likes Candy!!! I love Halloween!

That's the attitude my kids keep pushing at me! I guess I'm going to have to tone down the curmudgeonliness.

We only ended up with about 15 kids as well. I think it's just the natural cycle of small kids growing up. The peak era, in the 20 years we've lived here, was when my kids were older elementary aged and there were plenty of smaller ones all down the street.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 9:46 am

emmline wrote: I think you mean Wanderer, Fly! (and I believe he's spoken for.)

Indeed I am...but, even so, the reaction was a nice ego cookie

We only ended up with about 15 kids as well. I think it's just the natural cycle of small kids growing up. The peak era, in the 20 years we've lived here, was when my kids were older elementary aged and there were plenty of smaller ones all down the street.

I ran out of candy early this year...usually I buy 5 bags and have a bag left over. Never can tell, I guess. There were a lot less 14-to-18 year olds out, but a lot more 7-to-10 year-olds.

jsluder · Post by **jsluder** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:18 am

We had exactly 30 TorTers show up at our door. All were very polite, taking only 1 or 2 items from the bowls and saying, "Thank you."

We had 2 bowls of goodies: 1 with chocolate candies, and 1 with various toys (including some cool miniature containers of Play-Doh we found at Costco). Surprisingly, the toys were just as popular as the candy.

Flyingcursor · Post by **Flyingcursor** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:38 am

Wanderer wrote:
emmline wrote: I think you mean Wanderer, Fly! (and I believe he's spoken for.)
Indeed I am...but, even so, the reaction was a nice ego cookie

Thanks for the correction Em.

Wanderer, does this mean no lichen outside the home?

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 5:30 pm

emmline wrote:
Flyingcursor wrote:Walden She liked you man!!! Let the music do the talking. Play Misty for her. She'll be putty in your hands. Of course I haven't tried to play Misty on a whistle.

I think you mean Wanderer, Fly!

Awww.... man!!! Now Walden is disappointed.... again.

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 6:56 pm

So, a week before All Hallow's Eve, I started taking some of those
solar garden lights and putting them in glazed canning jars to make
Sun Jars. They charge up in the day and emit an amber glow at
night. I lined our driveway with 6 of them and 2 pumpkins.
Here's what it looked like.

Here's a closeup of a couple of Sun Jars:

And these are the Jacks-O-Lantern I made. The first was made of
a white pumpkin. I like how it glows.

We gave away 4 bags o' candy, and we still have a couple bags
left for ourselves. Halloween is fun!

Whistlin'Dixie · Post by **Whistlin'Dixie** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:29 pm

Ooooh, great Idea!

I like your Jack O Lanterns!

Yeah, Halloween is fun!

M

emmline · Post by **emmline** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 7:30 pm

the jars are pretty cool.

Cynth · Post by **Cynth** » Wed Nov 01, 2006 11:37 pm

Those jars with lights are really neat. I might have to look into lights like those---I really had not heard of them. They would be fun. And nice pumpkin carving too.

Walden wrote:
emmline wrote:
Flyingcursor wrote:Walden She liked you man!!! Let the music do the talking. Play Misty for her. She'll be putty in your hands. Of course I haven't tried to play Misty on a whistle.

I think you mean Wanderer, Fly!
Awww.... man!!! Now Walden is disappointed.... again.

Dude, stop spending all your time on your lichen collection! Botany is fine but is it really that romantic? Learn to play Misty on the whistle!

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Thu Nov 02, 2006 12:19 am

Flyingcursor wrote:
Wanderer, does this mean no lichen outside the home?

Why, are you offering?