Halloween: more fun today than long ago?
I don’t know if any of you are old enough to remember when Halloween was more fun than it is today? Years ago we lived in a small town, and because we did not have a large mall or other amenities that our young people feel they cannot live without today, we often created our own Halloween fun. Those were the days when a trip to the toilet meant going to the old outhouse which usually contained a two-holer, one for mom and one for tot.
These specific buildings gave us a wonderful idea for a trick on Halloween night. “Why not turn over an outhouse?” This idea was met with a resounding “Yes!” from my three compatriots. The procedure of disengaging the outhouse from its moorings would take the strength and agility of all four of us, for if we did not watch our footing, the trick would have definitely been on us! Accompanied by my three partners in crime, we waited till dark and then picked out the outhouse belonging to the person we most wanted to target. Stealthily, we crept to the building. After sizing it up, we put all four sets of hands on the front door and pushed with all our might. Slowly, the building creaked over its most important contents. Finally, with one last push, it fell onto its back, exposing the dark contents below. Needless to say, with the trick completed, we were out of there in a flash to collect the rest of our treats.
We could hardly wait to get to school the next day! As we approached our one room schoolhouse, we could see a group of kids in deep conversation. “I’d like to get the people who pushed over our outhouse; I almost fell into the hole.” This coming from the poor kid whose outhouse we had targeted. Looking innocent while stifling our laughter, we kept our little secret while thinking of who we could target next year.
Yes, it seems like all of the fun has gone out of Halloween!
P.S. I have changed a lot since then!
Until next time, this is “Nurse Audrey” signing off.