Halloween 2009

A witch, a wiseman, an airline pilot, Reno 911 officers, a gorilla, a jailbird, a Julia Child, and more. I absolutely love Halloween. Growing up, Halloween was one of my favorite holidays of the year. There was something very exciting and special about gearing up for Halloween. My sweet tooth envisioned a pillow case (or two) full of colorful sweet treats, despite all those scare stories us kids heard regarding poisoned candy from spooky strangers whose doors we knocked on and door bells we buzzed in hopes of our favorite glob of sugar. And for me, in particular, those delightful sour candies topped them all. Crybabies, Lemonheads, and Sweet Tarts aside, I loved the idea of not knowing which costumes I was going to see on the eve of November.

This year’s Halloween was no different, though the costumes over the years have grown taller, and with slightly more apparent grown-up bellies underneath. I still love Halloween so much. This year’s Halloween party was at Sheri’s house, one of our fire fighters. Every year Sheri hosts her annual Halloween party at her house which overlooks the congested valley, with a perfect deck to support us, partying and gathered in our costumes. Karat and other EtOH beverages always within an arm’s length, a party-fashioned potluck assembly of homemade casseroles, fine creamy cheeses, warm chocolate chip cookies and more.

I love how choices of Halloween costumes can be so reflective of the times too. Surely last year’s hits were Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, and at this year’s party there were hits such as Julia Child, Cheech (from “Cheech and Chong”) and even myself: Bernie Madoff (See: Photo of jailbird).

It wasn’t that long ago I was trick-or-treating with my friends. In middle school (and even one year in highschool), I would walk around during the dark hours casually with my friends, Ricky and Chris. Sure we would carry along our pillow cases, but as “big kids”, we were seeking out each and every haunted house fabricated in front of single family dwellings. Fortunately for me, Crybabies, Lemonheads, and Sweet Tarts were still in business for Halloween.

For as much as I love seeing the excitement and joy in kids during Halloween, as a grown-up it is still very exciting for me.