hallowe'en, handily survived

Hallowe'en has come and gone. I'm always a little excited about it and always a little glad when it's over.

This year, Robert got a gigantic bag of assorted chocolate goodies and another gigantic bag of assorted hard and sugary non-chocolate candies.

This year, our town has Reverse 911 -- that phone system to be used in case of emergencies (Your house is about to flood, go up in flames, or both at the same time, all during a blizzard, and the chief of police calls to let you know that it would be best to leave, that is, if you can join the creeping line of traffic trying to evacuate the area.) Except our police force is having just a little too much fun with it.

This week alone, we've received four calls. One was to let us know that the yearly "merchant's Hallowe'en" evening was happening (as it has every year since before I was born, I think). Roads would be closed. Children would be about. Then there was that water break over on Acton Street. Then the water break was fixed. Then yesterday, there was a message about Hallowe'en -- the hours, suggestions for costumes (a little late, maybe?), and a strict warning that vandalism would NOT be tolerated (was it before?). Our men in blue, always at the ready.

Anyways, there was the usual assortment of tiny cute kids, some of whom were too little to actually understand why they were placed in front of a stranger's door and what that stranger was placing in their buckets. There were kids who wanted to reach into the candy bowl themselves (we actually like to give the candy to the kids). There were not as many little tykes as in the past and there were hordes of older kids, many of whom didn't even bother with a costume (hmm, maybe we're working our way through a population bubble). Some of the older guys, in fact, just brought backpacks, and I imagine had visions of frontloaders lining up to supply them with sugar for the next month.

Also in the older kids category were some newer trends -- girls talking on cell phones (though this year not *while* I was giving them candy), girl-and-boy friends snogging on the street between collecting candy at various houses (can you say "caught between childhood and adulthood"?), and a new category in older teenage girls -- the Super Slut -- girls not so much wearing costumes as outfits, and not particularly appropriate ones either, especially given all the other activities going on.

OK, so here's a list of my votes for favorite costumes this year:

• A lightbulb: cardboard around the torso, lightswitch at the belly, and hat made up to look like a lightbulb, complete with (safety first!) glowsticks for the filament.
• A toilet: cardboard around the torso, candy receptacle in the bowl, and attached to the top of the tank, a newspaper, a book, and a box of Kleenex.
• A cute little girl dressed up as a 50s diner waitress, complete with granny-holders on her glasses. Adorable.
• A teenage boy dressed up as Jonathan Papelbon, complete with Red Sox jersey and red plaid kilt. (No broom though.)

The candy is almost completely gone. The street looks fairly quiet this morning. From my perch here, I see no toilet paper or shaving cream. And we get to do it all again next year.