Perhaps my favorite time of the year was Halloween. It was great fun dressing up in a costume, walking around the neighborhood and demanding candy from all of the adults at each house. I loved the scary Halloween shows on television, I loved getting dressed up in a costume, and I loved sorting through my candy afterwards.
Several weeks before Halloween, costumes would magically appear on the shelves at the store. Shortly thereafter, the whole family would go to the local supermarket or department store to purchase some of these costumes (one for Belinda and one for myself.) I remember dad and I looking for hours at each and every costume, looking for the perfect mask, the perfect cape, the perfect wand.
We usually purchased one of those boxed costumes, with a plastic mask and a cape, and maybe a wand or a plastic sword. Once, however, we bought some makeup, and used it instead of a plastic mask. I liked the masks better, as they could be discarded quickly if need be. Also, I didn’t really enjoy the feel of makeup.
A day or two before Halloween, the family would get in the car and proceed down to the pumpkin patch. Then Belinda and I would run around, looking for the absolute biggest and best pumpkin. We were very careful - we wanted the biggest, scariest and nastiest-looking pumpkin we could find. Once, I looked back at my parents, and caught them smiling at us and holding hands.
We picked out a pumpkin and brought it home. Then came the fun part - making the jack-o’-lantern. Dad would get a large knife, and cut out the meanest, ugliest, scariest face that you could imagine. He’d carefully scoop out the insides, then carve the face. Once it was perfect, he would place a candle inside, with, of course, a stern warning about the dangers of fire. He’d then set the pumpkin out on the porch for everyone to see.
Come Halloween night, Belinda and I would dress up in our cute little costumes, get our pumpkin-shaped baskets, and begin going from door-to-door, asking for candy. We’d hit every door in the neighborhood, and always managed to get a huge selection of candy. We were forbidden to eat any of the goodies, however, until we got home. We usually did chomp on a few small sweets, but we respected our father’s wishes and never ate much until he had a chance to look it over.
When we got home, we’d dump our pumpkins onto the floor, and dad would examine every piece of candy. He was looking for razor blades and pin-holes. He didn’t want us to be hurt by some maniac child-hater. I don’t believe he ever found anything out of the ordinary, but the show of his love and support was enough to make me feel very good.
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Unless otherwise noted, all photos and text is Copyright © Richard G Lowe, Jr.