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BS: Halloweener count 2009
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: gnu Date: 02 Nov 09 - 04:18 PM Mary SUNSHINE.... sure they do... I believe you. And, no, it's not mean expect tradition and ettiquette. That is one of the reasons why I have security cameras. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: SharonA Date: 02 Nov 09 - 03:07 PM Three kids: Two from the family that moved into the apartment downstairs this past summer (grade-school girl in a banana costume leading her toddler brother dressed as Mickey Mouse), and one from the family that moved in across the hall this past spring (a very tired one-year-old "bumblebee" carried in her mommy's arms). Thankfully, the gang of 10 or so destructive kids (five of whom live in other parts of the apartment building, plus their friends) did not come knocking at the door on Saturday. However, they did come banging against the outer wall of the building, below my window and next to my car, early in the day. They had two toy guitars with them (the playable kind from WalMart) and one kid was smashing a guitar against the wall while another kid was swinging the second guitar around by the neck in pre-smashing mode. I opened my window and yelled at them before the second guitar was broken, and the gang moved away from my wall... but the pieces of the first guitar are still on the sidewalk beside the wall. Fortunately they didn't dent my car, but they gave me a scare at first because I was preparing to go to a mid-day gig and had just put two of MY guitars in my car. For one heart-stopping moment, I thought they'd broken into my car and were smashing my guitars!!!!! Seeing a musical instrument, even a cheap one, destroyed like that made me a little sad all day (and it still frustrates me). If any of those kids had dared to come trick-or-treating at my door that evening, all they would have gotten from me is an earful about how disrespectful they were to the person or people who had bought those guitars for the kids as gifts. >:-( |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: SINSULL Date: 02 Nov 09 - 01:49 PM gnu - that's mean! Greet them with a smile and they all shout "Trick Or Treat!" Honest... Mary SUNSHINE |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Becca72 Date: 02 Nov 09 - 10:41 AM I have been in my apartment 7 years and have never once had a trick or treater. Of course, no parent in their right mind would send their child up a narrow flight of stairs into the unknown...or at least I hope not! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: gnu Date: 01 Nov 09 - 12:57 PM It bugs me when they don't ask the question (in the past). Not the wee ones, of course. With them, I ask if they are here for "trick or treat", trying to encourage them to catch on to the proper procedure. And I always give the wee ones a large handful of whateven is on the go, regardless of what they say or don't say. With kids about 7 or older, I quiz, "Yes?" And, with anyone who has a mustache or facial piercings (you get the idea), I say "Trick... and make it a good one for the security cameras." If they don't utter the magic words, I just shut the door. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: GUEST,.gargoyle Date: 01 Nov 09 - 12:11 PM For many years I have handed out walnuts in the shell...all they can grab....and then grab some more....no I mean MORE! PLEASE - Take More! They usually back away and then run.
Last year only three came by.
This year switched to rubber-dog-chew tennis balls.
All the lights were on...only one came by...she said she had a cat...but she got dog-chews anyway....
Sincerely,
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: VirginiaTam Date: 01 Nov 09 - 12:02 PM Tricking or more appropriately vandalism and thuggery is more prevalent in the UK as there is a higher proportion of teenagers out on the streets than in US and perhaps Canada, using halloween as an excuse to act out. Don't go into town centres. Not much door to door activity in the UK. They do parties here. Safer and more satisfactory because houses that would welcome trick or treaters are few and far between. Most everyone I know here, frowns on halloween as a silly American custom that encourages yobbish behaviour. But that is because it is the Yoof what took it up. I miss halloween. I used to make the most awesome costumes and we would put on scary shows and active decorations too. Last time (over 10 years ago) I was Wednesday Addams, meat cleaver in hand, demanding one finger per treat. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: SINSULL Date: 01 Nov 09 - 11:21 AM I love Halloween. It was my favorite holiday as a kid and still is. This year I had about 50 Trick or Treaters vs 100 last year - when I ran out of candy and gave them coins. Most came in big groups with their parents. I had bought some gumball eyeballs to make it look like more candy. Apparently that is the "IN" candy with five year old males. The shout went up and some came back twice. LOL One little blond haired cutie came first with his mask up and then with his mask down. He dropped it as our eyes met. Just couldn't get enough of those eyeballs. Another saw the eyeballs as I dropped some candy in his bag and said "Oh! Can I have this?" So I gave him a handful. As he ran across the lawn he shouted "Mom! I got an eyeball!" Too cute for words. All said thank you even the older ones. Some wished me a Happy Halloween. Well worth waiting at the door for the patter of little feet. I miss the big Halloween Party I organized every year at our co-op. Maybe I will find some place here that would like one - treasure hunt, pinata, ghost stories, dunking for apples, etc. Rain cut short the holiday and now I have a ton of candy to bring to work. Happy Halloween everyone! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Amos Date: 01 Nov 09 - 11:10 AM We had perhaps fourteen. Half of our Reese's Cups packets are still in the bowl, and a third of those that were eaten were by our dinner guests. LOL! A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Ed T Date: 01 Nov 09 - 11:01 AM When four (about 8 year old) kids came to my door, they used the old trick or treat line. I said, I think I'll take the trick. They stoof puzzled (I gave them a treat). What ever happened to the trick part? Has it been lost? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Bat Goddess Date: 01 Nov 09 - 11:00 AM We're sort of in the middle of the woods and with an intimidating 300 foot driveway going downhill... We've NEVER in the history of the house (Tom built it in 1977) ever had a single trick or treater -- even when we've specifically invited the neighbors' kids. But Tom always bought candy -- just in case. This year, at the last minute, of course, our up-the-hill neighbor called to see if we were, uh, "receiving". Nope, sorry. This was the first year Tom did NOT buy treats. Sigh. Linn |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: katlaughing Date: 01 Nov 09 - 10:32 AM Iron bubbles...don't those hurt when they land? We had our grandson and two other small groups of kids, 2 with one adult and three with two adults and that was it. Hardly any of our neighbourhood had their lights on, so that was discouraging to them I am sure. It was really kind of sad. My brother always comes over to see them as he enjoys passing out the candy and seeing their costumes, etc. I wonder if we will ever get any in years to come. We turned off our lights at 8p and blew out the candle in the jack o'lantern. I thought it being on a Saturday there might be more. Seems a ton of kids went to some thing at the mall..I know it is safer, but I hate kids getting sucked into commerce for this, esp. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Severn Date: 01 Nov 09 - 10:04 AM I live in a town house community where there's lots of kids The number was down this year a bit because it was raining, so I got a lot of little ones accompanied by parents. I set up an old cast iron bubble machine that I own (left at a nightclub that a friend of mine worked at long ago and passed on to me) out on the front steps and it's hard to get the little ones OFF the stairs to make way for the next ones. For some years during all of this, I'd traditionally watch Abbott & Costello meet some scary being from the Universal Studios stable, but it seems I finally ran out of those and watched Harold Lloyd in "Haunted Spooks" as well as another of his shorts. I had to use the pause button a lot, of course..... We also used to collect money for UNICEF while we were out and go turn it into the church at a given time to be counted. Some who didn't go back out and try to fill their pillowcase (no mere plastic punkin for some of us) would stay at the church and help count money and others would claim they did so they could stay out longer. Nobody does the UNICEF thing any more, do they? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 10:46 PM Finally!! Got two at the door, girls about 12 or 13 years old. I asked them if they had seen any other kids in the neighborhood and they laughed and said no. Their bags were pretty full... probably got extra from the other houses, too. I gave them each 2 candy bars, as I have plenty to spare. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 09:51 PM Still zero, and almost 8 o'clock. I'll wait another half hour and then turn out the porch light, as it would be too late for the little kids after 8:30. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: ranger1 Date: 31 Oct 09 - 09:47 PM Zero. And apparantly, Bandit scared them off from the neighbor's house while she was dogsitting for the wee beastie. In the ten years Jason and I have lived here, we've had a total of three trick-or-treaters. One was the landlady's little girl who lived upstairs, and the other two are sisters who moved in down the street. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: frogprince Date: 31 Oct 09 - 09:01 PM Didn't get a real count, but something like 40. A few years ago we would have had over a hundred. We're in a subdivision on the edge of our small town. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Hawker Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:37 PM 4! All our local liitle ones have growed up.....and there was a halloween party run by the village hall committee which the remaining ones probably were at! Still ots more sweeties for me YUM! Cheers, Lucy |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:33 PM Well, not a single kid so far, and it is dark out there. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Uncle Phil Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:29 PM Slow but steady in Northeast Dallas County, all neighborhood kids so far. Michelle left me in charge this year so we've got more and better candy than ususal. It looks like we'll have leftovers. - Phil |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: GUEST Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:27 PM We usually get a good bunch of kids here in Warren - a tradition loving small town. Lots of H1N1 flu here though. People are being very cautious. Still, I've had a nice bunch of Princess Leah's, robots, devils, ladybugs and Superman came by too. I'm missing my daughter and son-in-law who always joined me in making sure the local kids got what they came knockin' for. They moved an hour and a half away and left me alone this year to uphold the tradition of givin' the kids just a little bit of a scare. Me with my Medusa snakes dispensing candy full of high fructose corn syrup. Now THAT's scary! Happy Samhain! Happy Halloween! JK |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: SussexCarole Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:25 PM 20 or thereabouts - all local village kids. I'm tempted to join in with them next year |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: maire-aine Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:20 PM Not many. Twenty to thirty, at most. The little ones across the street had a party for their pre-school friends, and they all came around. But still, not very many. It was chilly, but at least it was not raining. Maryanne |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: MickyMan Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:20 PM It's Halloween night here in Eastern CT (Colchester), and although rain was predicted we have only gotten a few minutes of mist. The full moon has been peeking through the clouds every once in a while and the trick or treaters are out in pretty good numbers. We get 60-75 here and so it's worth my while to bring down the box of decorations and do the porch up for them. We have some fake gravestones I made many years ago, a plastic motion activated skull that starts clacking its teeth, a couple of hanging tapestries, a wrought iron owl with a candle inside, a chandelier with a skull for a base, and assorted other Halloween stuff. The great thing about Halloween is that all decorations are measured by their effectiveness on the young ones, so all kinds of homemade and storebought stuff fits the bill ... the gaudier the better. I stay away from the blood and gore though, and try to pitch it to the little ones. Hey ...its good to set the mood, and the kids seem to appreciate it. It's actually turned out to be a perfect, balmy Halloween. All the best to everyone! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:17 PM I think we probably still have some neighborhood trick or treating in our town, but it seems like all the kids have grown up and moved away around us. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Janie Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:14 PM OMYGAWD, West Virginia sensibilities DID invade Ohio! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Janie Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:12 PM I think so, Alice. upthread I talked about the decline of trick or treaters over time where I used to live. That decline started when the downtown business/shopping district of the village where I lived started staying open and offering events. Also, a lot of churches, as well as the county Parks & Recreation dept. hold halloween parties, fairs and events - if not on Halloween, then within a day or two of it. Halloween in many places doesn't seem to center on "neighborhood" anymore. I guess because there are not that many places that really are neighborhoods in the 21st century. I'm jealous, Spaw. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: catspaw49 Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:06 PM Exactly right Janie........Generally we have it on the right night unless its a weekend night and then its always on Thursday.....Same reason as Janie stated and it seems to work, Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Janie Date: 31 Oct 09 - 08:02 PM In West Virginia, where I grew up, if Halloween falls on a weekend night, trick or treat night is held on the Thursday before. The reason has to do with kids having to get to bed for school the next day, and so would not be out late, playing pranks or engaging in vandalism. Here where I live in North Carolina, that doesn't happen, although when Halloween falls on a Sunday, trick-or-treat night will often unofficially occur on Saturday due to fundamentalist religious sensibilities. (A lot of folks don't mow grass on a Sunday here, either.) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:57 PM I wonder if they are all going to the shopping mall and business main street events instead of their neighbor's houses. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Tinker Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:55 PM Cold, rainy and windy. this is the first time we've had no children at all come to trick or treat. We usually get somewhere between a dozen or two.... Miss them |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:50 PM Peacock costume toddler photo in our hometown newspaper today. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:48 PM One year I was working in Cody, Wyoming on Halloween. In that town, they have the little kids go up and down the main street to trick or treat at the businesses. I was staying at a motel on the main street. It was very cute. The memorable costume was a little five year old girl who was a ladybug. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: gnu Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:41 PM Spaw.... good stuff! That is what it's all about. Sounds like great fun! But, why not tonight? Why was it Thursday? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:40 PM Being in a university town, it is fun to see the young adults my son's age who create very clever costumes and wander around historic main street. You go to the grocery store to get milk, and there will be costumed groups buying snacks. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Janie Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:40 PM My Dad has a great story about turning over an outhouse with the mean neighbor in it on Halloween night when he was a kid. Problem was, he was chubby and couldn't run fast like his partners in crime, and was the only one that got caught. He didn't snitch, though. Rolls of unraveling toilet paper tossed up into trees seems to be the thing here, now. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:37 PM My son's favorite holiday is Halloween. Now that he has a degree in film making and works doing special effects makeup, the costumes are even more elaborate and realistic. Last year he was Heath Ledger's Joker character in the nurse's uniform. This year it is Hitcher from the Mighty Boosh. I remember when he was about 6 or 7 and I would take him trick or treating, he would forget to say "trick or treat". He'd go to the door and say "hi, thank you". |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Janie Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:35 PM Nary a one. I've turned my light out. Can I mail anyone a bag of candy to see to it that I don't eat it? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: gnu Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:24 PM Tricks seem to be a thing of the past. Used to be eggs and soap on windows. Mild stuff. Of course, up country, they used to burn bridges, so as to get employment building new bridges. The trick of choice here many years ago was tomatoes left on the vine after heavy frost. They made a mess of whatever they hit, but it was easily cleaned off with a spray of water. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: catspaw49 Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:20 PM Well..................ain't that way here! Bremen is a true little throwback community. We have a dozen tree lined streets, most of them still brick. Lots of folks here still don't lock their doors and will decorate for almost any holiday, including Halloween. Every year we get over 350 kids, many accompanied by their parents or grandparents, and it is very rare to get any of them acting rudely. Virtually all say "Thank You." When we moved here 20 years ago, Karen and I were used to places where the Beggar's Night was about nothing. If we got a dozen it was a big night. I bought a bag of candy figuring we might get some here too......and it was gone in 10 minutes!!! I asked a neighbor why nobody warned me about this. It reminded me so much of my own small town 40 years before. It has been a joy ever since. Karen made some great costumes for our kids, both the boys and their foster brothers and sisters. It was a big deal for all of them and it was almost sad when Mike and Tris outgrew the tradition. Our "Beggar's Night" this year was on Thursday and they always run from 6-7:30. This year I had 360 pieces of candy and we ran out about 7:15 so it was about normal. I still enjoy it and as Karen and I sat there giving out candy we talked about this very thing. I know that at some point the real world will catch up with Bremen but I don't look forward to it. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:19 PM I've never experienced being tricked - but I've always had treats. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:17 PM So do any of the kids come equipped with tricks if you don't provide sweets? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Phot Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:14 PM Yo! Gnu! Life on this side of the pond is good, apart fromm the berks who keep driving into Fionas car! Work is still work, but it pays the bills! And as for the Disco....................... Wassail!! Chris |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Ed T Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:13 PM Warmer than normal....but very windy. 50, so far. doesn't change much from year to year. There always seems to be more on the other side of the street? We always buy for about 100....more left-overs for me:) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:12 PM I put on my costume I usually wear to greet the kids... a burnoose I made from an India print bedspread back in 1971. It has a big hood I can pull down over my head, with a large black tassle on the point of the hood. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: gnu Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:07 PM Janie... cool! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Amos Date: 31 Oct 09 - 07:04 PM It's only 4 here so we aren't to be plagued by Munchkins for another few hours. A |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Janie Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:58 PM Alice, When I had a bigger budget, I used to hand out colorful pencils, plastic protractors, funny-shaped erasers, etc., instead of candy. From the comments, the kids loved it, because it was different. Now if the whole neighborhood did the same, expect there would have been a different reaction.... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: gnu Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:50 PM Same as Xmas... it's about the kids. I LOVE giving Xmas presents to the kids.... not their parents. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies) Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:46 PM No Trick or Treaters here.. Used to hate the bang on the door as I thought it was a grotty commercial 'Americanism' of an old Celtic holy day. But reading all the sadness in the decline of kids T&T tradition from the Americans here, makes me think again, and understand it with more affectionate eyes.. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:41 PM For about 5 years I made popcorn balls to give away. Then I decided to just buy peanuts in the shell and give something more "healthy" rather than sugary. After a few years of that, I realized that some kids were probably allergic to peanuts... and I was contaminating their entire candy bag by throwing in scoops of peanuts. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: gnu Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:29 PM Of course, in my old neighbourhod, which has about 110 houses, bounded by commercial properties and apartment complexes, I don't miss the teenagers that I have to look up to who come to the door and don't even say the magic words... until I look at them quizically and ask, "Yeah?" Such rude manners! Had a about six of them show up in one group at the door about five years ago. Made each one say "Trick or treat." before I shelled out. The last one, a lad about six feet tall, maybe 18 years old or so, said, "Trick or fuck you." I still have his hat. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: AllisonA(Animaterra) Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:22 PM We're in our new house, down a long (900ft) driveway. In our village, most of the trick-or-treaters are driven from door to door- no one yet! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: bobad Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:20 PM We haven't had one trick-or-treater in the nearly nineteen years we have lived here. I guess that's what happens when you live on an unpaved road on the edge of a bog with a driveway the length of a football field. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Janie Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:13 PM Still 20-30 minutes before trick or treating starts here, but I understand from my neighbors that we will get few, if any. These days, it seems, parents drive kids to several prosperous, densely packed subdivisions in the area rather than take them around their own neighborhood, where there is more walking (and perhaps the treats are not as upscale?) In my old neighborhood I noticed a steady decline over the past 10 years. Like gnu and Alice, I miss seeing the little ones. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:03 PM I live half a block from an elementary school. This neighborhood used to have many families with small kids. I miss having them show up at the door. Maybe the parents just are not sending them out to strangers' doors as much as in the past. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: gnu Date: 31 Oct 09 - 06:00 PM I miss seeing the wee kids in costume. Especially the ones that want to talk. So cute. Now, the two wee kids I did have tonight... I gave several treats to the girl. I gave a bigger handful to the lad. Just happened that I grabbed more. She looked at his "pumkin" treat bag, looked up at me and said, indignantly, "You gave him more that I got!" He was on his way back down the front steps. I grabbed a BIG handful and put it in her bag and put the "shoosh finger" to my lips. She did the same, with the biggest smile you could imagine. Some cute! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Alice Date: 31 Oct 09 - 05:46 PM The weather warmed up, but for the last two years, I've had zero trick or treaters on Halloween. Used to have lots of kids, all ages. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: gnu Date: 31 Oct 09 - 05:39 PM Yo Phot. haven't ran into you in a while. Hope all is okay with you and yours. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: Phot Date: 31 Oct 09 - 05:38 PM Thankfully quiet! None whatsoever! Wassail!! Chris |
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Subject: BS: Halloweener count 2009 From: gnu Date: 31 Oct 09 - 05:33 PM For the last two years... high twenties, including about 10 teenagers. The streetlights have been on for just over a half hour. The temp is about 16C (warm for tonight) but the wind is whipping from about 40 to 70kph and rain is threatenting. Mum did not want me to go to her place to hand out treats... not due to the wind... due to the swine flu. She figured parents would not want their kids taking candy from strangers. Seems that the combo is "working". Two little kids at 4:40PM and none since at my front door. 30 years ago, we would get at least 150... run out of treats not long after 8PM. How's by you? |
