Tardy Report

It's been long enough since Hallowe'en that I can safely report on it.

To begin with, here's what I had ready for the kids who had the courage to wade through the front yard. If they were the right height the weeds would brush their waists.
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I would have mowed the lawn, but I was hoping to make my house appear scary in spite of the lack of decorations. You know, natural stuff. Cobwebs, mouse trails, peeling paint on the trim.

The evening started slowly and by seven o'clock I'd seen a good number of Spidermen, witches, princesses, and pirates. For those interested, pirates are just kicking ninja's asses, but I did see a couple of them.

What I saw more of than anything else were parents. Honestly, there were more adults standing on the sidewalk than kids coming to the door, though a few grown-ups did choose to trail the trick-or-treaters nearly all the way inside. I did my best, smiling and appearing pleasant, but I'm not sure anyone was fooled.

Later on, around eight or so, teenagers began appearing pushing the limits and showing up in T-shirts and short skirts. One went to the extreme of penciling in a soul patch, but it may have been a smudge or leftover chocolate. No one this year rivaled my all-time favorite kid who showed up a couple years ago wearing, naturally, a T-shirt. That intrepid halloweener couldn't even be bothered with a bag and just ate the candy after I handed it to him and walked off to go the next house.

As usual I met my neighbors who seemed please to see me actually doing anything.
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Around quarter to nine the cute kids stopped coming by and I shut the door, released the dogs (whom I'd shut off in a distant room), and called it a night.

By my unofficial tally, over seven thousand kids visited.