(no subject)
I've gone on record a number of times about my feelings on Halloween. It used to be one of my favorite holidays, but sadly, many of its traditions have fallen by the wayside. Gone are the days when kids go door to door in most neighborhoods, because of the apparent risk of having large armies of sex offenders patrolling around like the Bosnian death squads, and an equally large number of serial killers serving poisoned candy, or candy containing razor blades, straight pins, live grenades, anthrax, or a variety of other hazards.
That said, not all the kids got the memo, and some still go from door to door.
I last turned my porch light on for Halloween about 3 years ago, and was so disgusted by what I saw. Or, more to the point, what I didn't see. None of the kids were wearing costumes, and they showed up with Wal*Mart bags. That's not trick-or-treating...that's panhandling.
This is about the point where a few bleeding heart liberals might step up and say "they can't afford a costume." I call bullshit on that. They can get a newspaper and fold themselves a pirate hat, or throw a sheet over their head. That doesn't cost anything.
Anyway, I went against my halloween tradition of going out to the movies, and decided I'd take my chances and stay home. It was cold and rainy outside, and I had my porch light off. Granted, kids in my 'hood don't understand the sacred bushido porch light code, but the cold, rainy night might make angling for a 3 Musketeers bar sound a little bit unreasonable.
I heard the doorbell ring around 9:30, and thought perhaps it was a friend surprising me...maybe someone coming from a party or a haunted house or something. Probably not, but surely it wasn't kids. I did happen to have a bag of mixed candy I purchased for my own consumption. I grabbed it and headed to the door
2 girls, about 12-13 years old, no costumes.
"You guys have any candy?"
I say "actually, I had my light off, but here you go"
I drop a couple of pieces in each of their bags, and asked them what they were doing out in the rain.
"I'm hungry"
No thanks, nothing. They just walked off.
Next year, I'll have a sign on my door that says "No costume, no candy." We have been allowing this crap for far too long in my neighborhood, and I for one need to make a stand. If you want me to give you candy, you'd better have on a costume. I don't make the rules.