| Halloween brings vivid memories to my mind. | | | | we collected for ourselves in brown paper |
| When I was a little girl it was children of | | | | bags. |
| about 6 years to 14 who trick-or-treated, and | | | | |
| the little ones were kept at home. We would | | | | We went out in small packs of children. It |
| look forward to our costumes for weeks and | | | | was always completely dark out. It was safe |
| usually made them ourselves. Ghosts were the | | | | then and our parents didn't worry sending us |
| most popular and plenty of good sheets were | | | | out alone. We'd have felt mortified to have |
| cut before mom found out. In those days no | | | | our parents go with us. The other kids might |
| one had store-bought costumes. One year I was | | | | think we were babies! Besides, parents walk |
| a princess. A pretty white cocktail dress | | | | too slowly! They'd cramp our style! We wanted |
| with a gauzy top was pinned in the back to | | | | more candy so we wanted to run between doors |
| fit me, and the skirt that would have been | | | | and as quickly down the streets as possible! |
| just below the knee for a lady, came to the | | | | |
| ankles on me. I thought there was none | | | | I remember when we'd get to a corner, we'd |
| better. I remember the year my friend was a | | | | look down the other streets and decide which |
| robot and we used poster paint to cover a | | | | one had the most porch lights on. Porch |
| large cardboard box and cut holes for the | | | | lights meant they were offering candy. We'd |
| arms and head, and holes in a brown paper bag | | | | bang on a door and yell, "Trick or Tree-eat!" |
| for the robot head. | | | | and if we were feeling particularly saucy, |
| | | | "Trick or Tree-eat, smell my fee-eet, give me |
| The afternoon of Halloween we'd spend an hour | | | | something sweet to ee-eat!" Nothing bashful |
| carving pumpkins, put candles in, light them | | | | about us. This was pure candy greed and we |
| and set them on the steps to our house to | | | | weren't the least ashamed of it. And yet, I |
| welcome trick-or-treaters. In those days we | | | | don't think any of us dreamed taking more |
| collected for Unicef on Halloween night and | | | | than one piece per house or forgetting to say |
| we never went out without the orange box to | | | | thank you. |
| collect coins for hungry children. The candy | | | | |