The best part of halloween is watching the interaction of the children with their parents and the strangers they meet. The kids are either reticent or full of a false bravado; the parents are universally protective, and often insistent that the children remember to say "trick or treat" and "thank you". For all the diabolic origins I see in this an enduring American virtue, and an affirmation of the family. At 8:30 p.m. the Snickers bites gave out.
Very cute Justin... I didn't even get scared once. But, I did expect it.
"J" - I love your observation of halloween. Maybe that's the real reason I'm not so fond of the holiday.... I'm not so fond of my family. And I've still got some Snicker bites left.
G'morning, guys. Welcome to you Rob in your comments. And Stew and J, too. . .always good stuff to share. ;-) Strange, but as a kid I never felt comfortable with the 'trick or treat' thing. . and I was wondering about that, from the deep dark recesses of my childhood. hahaha
Stew, you mention a certain dis-ease aka 'out of sorts' with family. I don't feel that but there are 'attitudes' from family. . like with my dad we were never ever to be 'beggars': you need/want something: then work for it. Dad is very rootedly Boston Irish and the 'landed' O'Sheas from Ireland came to the US, to Boston, poor and driven out by the potato famine of the 1840s onward.
The 'brahmins' of Boston - the Cabots and Lodges. . "where the Cabots spoke only to the Lodges and the Lodges spoke only to God". .didnt want all these Cat'lic foreigner spoiling Puritan Boston. Irish Catholics couldn't find work. Job sites and store windows had signs "No Irish/Catholic need apply."
Southey heavy poor Irish beggars is now fashionable upscale South Boston by the Gays who moved in, bought up old brownstone houses and transformed the neighborhood. COOP knows what I am talking about here, right Coop?
That brooding old past, often not investigated, hung on in the psyche. Osheas didnt go begging candy from the neighbors, thank you very much, the O'Sheas threw the parties!
Grande MaMa Mme Bouvier, born at very French Quebec City, had her own mindset about how and what the children did and didn't do, what was correct and proper, etc. LOL
My brother is 12 years older, sister is 10yrs older than baby Justin! As teenagers they didn't want to cart baby Justin around. .and I don't blame them.
All this to say "trick or treat' I didn't. Later on though I did discover some tricks and treats on my own. . .LOL Living 20 miles or so south of Provincetown, dunes kids didnt go there nighttime. . .until later. . .
Party time in gay ole P'town can be raucous and crowded. There were very stong winds yesterday and the night before, so maybe that cut down on the costumes and revelry. . .they didnt want to get blown away. . .well, hehee, not that kind, anyway. Ooppss. .
So anyway, customs and holidays are all laced with past and present. . . gawwd, isn't that a profoundly pompous statement! LOL
Halloween is not generally celebrated in Oz but a couple of years ago a few of the neighborhood kids arrived at my front door wearing masks.
I've often given those kids treats and whatever - occasionally baking a pie or making sweets and taking them over to their house.
But when they come knocking and asking for freebies, that's different. I discovered later that other neighbors had given them cash money. That's not the way to teach kids how to earn their keep.
5 comments:
The best part of halloween is watching the interaction of the children with their parents and the strangers they meet. The kids are either reticent or full of a false bravado; the parents are universally protective, and often insistent that the children remember to say "trick or treat" and "thank you". For all the diabolic origins I see in this an enduring American virtue, and an affirmation of the family.
At 8:30 p.m. the Snickers bites gave out.
That was pretty cool Justin. Hope you had a Happy Halloween.
Very cute Justin... I didn't even get scared once. But, I did expect it.
"J" - I love your observation of halloween. Maybe that's the real reason I'm not so fond of the holiday.... I'm not so fond of my family. And I've still got some Snicker bites left.
G'morning, guys. Welcome to you Rob in your comments. And Stew and J, too. . .always good stuff to share. ;-)
Strange, but as a kid I never felt comfortable with the 'trick or treat' thing. . and I was wondering about that, from the deep dark recesses of my childhood. hahaha
Stew, you mention a certain dis-ease aka 'out of sorts' with family. I don't feel that but there are 'attitudes' from family. . like with my dad we were never ever to be 'beggars': you need/want something: then work for it. Dad is very rootedly Boston Irish and the 'landed' O'Sheas from Ireland came to the US, to Boston, poor and driven out by the potato famine of the 1840s onward.
The 'brahmins' of Boston - the Cabots and Lodges. . "where the Cabots spoke only to the Lodges and the Lodges spoke only to God". .didnt want all these Cat'lic foreigner spoiling Puritan Boston. Irish Catholics couldn't find work. Job sites and store windows had signs "No Irish/Catholic need apply."
Southey heavy poor Irish beggars is now fashionable upscale South Boston by the Gays who moved in, bought up old brownstone houses and transformed the neighborhood. COOP knows what I am talking about here, right Coop?
That brooding old past, often not investigated, hung on in the psyche. Osheas didnt go begging candy from the neighbors, thank you very much, the O'Sheas threw the parties!
Grande MaMa Mme Bouvier, born at very French Quebec City, had her own mindset about how and what the children did and didn't do, what was correct and proper, etc. LOL
My brother is 12 years older, sister is 10yrs older than baby Justin! As teenagers they didn't want to cart baby Justin around. .and I don't blame them.
All this to say "trick or treat' I didn't. Later on though I did discover some tricks and treats on my own. . .LOL Living 20 miles or so south of Provincetown, dunes kids didnt go there nighttime. . .until later. . .
Party time in gay ole P'town can be raucous and crowded. There were very stong winds yesterday and the night before, so maybe that cut down on the costumes and revelry. . .they didnt want to get blown away. . .well, hehee, not that kind, anyway. Ooppss. .
So anyway, customs and holidays are all laced with past and present. . . gawwd, isn't that a profoundly pompous statement! LOL
Halloween is not generally celebrated in Oz but a couple of years ago a few of the neighborhood kids arrived at my front door wearing masks.
I've often given those kids treats and whatever - occasionally baking a pie or making sweets and taking them over to their house.
But when they come knocking and asking for freebies, that's different. I discovered later that other neighbors had given them cash money. That's not the way to teach kids how to earn their keep.
Nah... bah humbug.
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