Halloween Recap

My boys are at the prime Halloween age: they enjoy dressing up, they like the candy, and they don't scare the neighbors. So it's a big deal in our house. We decorate with fake spider webs and (mostly) fake spiders, we carve pumpkins, and the boys gather with the neighbors to trick-or-treat.

But, like Christmas, Halloween is one of those holidays that doesn't translate well to southern California. My boys don't know any different, but for me when you subtract the fall chill and the harvested fields and the nearly leafless trees, it doesn't capture the spirit (pun intended) of Halloween. Of course, where i grew up in rural Indiana was not exactly the Carpathians either, but it's a little more suitable to the ghoul-,ghost-,goblin-like critters. Nobody seems to try southern-California themed costumes, like maybe a conquistador, or Zorro, or something really scary like Nixon.

I suppose that the real reason i've lost my fascination with Halloween is because i'm old. I generally get candy disbursement duty, while my wife accompanies the kids on the candy collection excursions. Last night i sat in the living room, restringing my guitar (D'Addario Pro Arte, normal tension, silver-plated for future reference), drinking a couple of Fat Weasel Ales from Trader Joe's, and waiting for the doorbell to ring. I ate some leftover Chinese food, and several mini-Butterfingers. The traffic was pretty good this year, and most of the kids were cute and polite. But it's hard not to sense that this is just another one of those adult obligations that you've been coerced into performing. Unlike Christmas, there's no underlying thematic basis for Halloween from which you can gain some hope or joy (or, if there is one, i'm not sure that i want to).

But, hey, the beer was good and i put on Pinback's Summer in Abaddon CD and watched the late football game on ESPN with the sound off. There are definitely some benefits to being an adult. And i still like the candy.