HALLOWEEN IS DEAD
Shortly after that my daughter-in -law came over to ask me to come over and see what my son had done to his four wheel drive. Well since they live right next to me it was a short walk and she seemed so excited, so I went with her to see what she was so excited about.
Much to my surprise he had decided to take the girls trick or treating along with his new wife and he had decorated the back of his old four wheel drive. He had strung a big high circle of lights over the bed of the truck, filled up the back of the truck bed with hay and had a huge cauldron with a big Crooked stir stick in it.
It was adorable but frankly I was surprise at his enthusiasm. He never did anything like this in his first marriage, I guess the second time around is the charmer because he certainly seemed happy to do it. All that was left now was to wait for the darkness which came soon and off they all went, and as they past my house on their way down the road, I yelled don't forget to go down Cherry Street, they always have good things there.
It wasn't long before I heard the familiar sound of that noisy truck coming back up the road. All I could think of was, Wow, the girls must have filled up their goody bags awfully fast. But in a few minutes the girls were at my door to share with me how broken their little hearts were and their disappointment that no one was giving out candy. They only found one lady that would open her door and she only gave them one tiny piece of hard candy. All the other houses had lights out and doors bolted and no one was answering to their knocks on the doors and their calls of trick or treat.
So I gave them some more of my candy and they went back next door.
In just a short while my grandson and I heard a loud noise, a huge noise.
It sounded like an explosion and we ran out the door to see if everything was alright next door. But it wasn't an explosion at all.
My son had built a big fire and he was setting off fireworks.
In addition to my daughter in laws nine year old girl, she also has a grown son and daughter who are both married and each have a child of their own.
They were both there with their families. In fact the back yard was full of people.
Adults and children, friends and neighbors from up and down our road were all gathered together in my sons back yard. Laughing and talking and making bets on how fast my son could run every time he put more firework into the fire.
The fireworks were absolutely beautiful shooting high up in the sky as though they had been shot out of a cannon then bursting into their vibrant shades of blues and reds and yellows.
What started out to be a sad Halloween turned out to be a wonderful night of fun and friendship for all. It was wonderful to see such camaraderie.
My son turned a very sad evening into a happy occasion.
So you see -- Halloween is not dead, it's just different.
I have a feeling that from now on Halloween is going to be a back yard party, maybe even with food and goodies for the kids, for sure, there will be lots of fireworks!



