Trick or Treat

As a child, growing up in suburban Framingham, back in the ‘70s, going “Trick or Treating” for Halloween was a much anticipated event. When we were little, my Mom would take us to the old Woolworth’s 5 and 10 to pick out a costume. These costumes were invariably made of fabric that was cheap, shiny, and thin, and they were usually accompanied by a plastic mask guaranteed to make your face sweat. We thought they were wonderful. As we got older, we started to make our own costumes. My favorite costume was the year that I dressed as a giant Hershey’s Kiss; my best friend Lisa accompanied me dressed as a giant Hershey’s Bar. We made quite a pair! My costume involved quite a lot of tin foil, and the only design flaw was that I used a large hula hoop to make the bottom round—I couldn’t sit down and I couldn’t fit through any of the neighbor’s doorways!

Each Halloween, we’d make our way through the neighborhood filling our pillowcases with candy. Sometimes the treats we received were less than desirable. Our neighbor the dentist gave out toothbrushes, the hippie neighbor gave out apples (we threw them away) and our neighbor the banker gave out shiny new pennies. Once we returned from our carefully negotiated six block rendezvous, guaranteed to maximize our returns, my two brothers and I would gather at the dining room table and empty our bags. Then the candy trading would begin. My favorite candies were (and still are) Junior Mints and plain M&Ms, my brother Jeff was partial to Hershey Bars and my little brother Gary liked the bubble gum and LifeSavers. My Mom would give each of us a large glass jar to store our holdings and if we were diligent, we could usually make our candy last until Christmas.

As an adult I still enjoy Halloween. Since I don’t have human children, every year I dress up my two pugs, Romeo and Elvis, and parade them in costume through the neighborhood. In past  years, they’ve dressed up as pumpkins, hot dogs and skeletons. Both pugs are good–natured and happily submit to my machinations. They enjoy the attention from all of the neighborhood children. Although we don’t trick or treat for candy, our neighbor Bobby always has dog cookies ready and our neighbor Clara is always good for a piece of cheese.

What was your favorite Halloween costume? Do you have a favorite Halloween memory? What is your favorite Halloween candy? What are your children (or dogs) dressing up as this year for Halloween?

This post was originally published in October 2011, in the pre-LarryPug days. LarryPug also enjoys wearing a costume and going trick or treating.