Dear Hearts and Gentle People

Next Wednesday is the day all the witches, monsters, and aliens come calling.

No, it's not the family reunion.

It's Halloween, that long-awaited day when kids do everything their parents have told them not to do every other day of the year.

Like taking candy from perfect strangers and eating enough sugary treats to rot out primary teeth by the handsful.

Oh, to be a kid again!

Tell the truth now, baby boomers. Don't you yearn for the days when you could go door-to-door, stick out your bag and have it filled up with Baby Ruths, Tootsie Pops, Popcorn Balls, Candy Apples, Pixie Sticks, then go home and eat 'til you puked without your parents saying nary a word? I do.

Not only do I wish for those days I wish for the nice treats like we got back then. Not the cheap miniature candies sold in huge plastic bags today. I'm talking nice treats. Like the hand-decorated treats we got at the Groves' house.

Mrs. Groves lived next to the courthouse and actually served her homemade goodies on a silver tray! At dusk she would put out a set number of cupcakes or divinity bags and close the door. She never came to the door after that and you'd better believe all of us in the neighborhood learned that pretty fast.

We would all bust our cans to get to Mrs. Groves' house first to partake of her handiwork. And get this...not a one of us ever took more than one treat a piece! Do what Mrs. G. did today and you'd not only give up all the goodies to the first trickor treater but it's a pretty good bet your silver tray would disappear, too.

Mrs. Mercier down from the funeral home always served hot chocolate and cookies and Granny Rees and Jean usually concocted some pretty neat confection that drew little goblins by the dozens. My mama was fond of making rice krispie treats and if my sister and I had not eaten them all by the time the sun went down she'd put out quite a nice spread of them.

A visit to Mrs. Gamble's house was always on the top of everyone's todo list on Halloween night. She would sit out on her side porch, all of us gathered 'round her feet, and tell the most intriguing ghost stories we'd ever heard. A full moon and the chime of the courthouse clock was just the added touch to scare the beejeebies out of the most sensitive of the group....usually me.

Just up the street was the dimly lit two-story house of "Miss Sara" Spratlin who, like a kid herself, took particular delight in taking each child by the hand and leading them twoby two into the dark living room. Once inside, Miss Sara would begin her tale of ghosts and goblins who'd once inhabited the house, then slowly take the wide-eyed children to the top of the squeaking staircase to see the moving eyes in the huge oil-painted portrait of "Aunt Kate."

Had I not seen "Aunt Kate" before in the daylight I'm quite sure I would have still been in therapy today. Oops, I forgot. I am!

Parents used to work late into the night sewing elaborate Halloween costumes that today can be bought for pennies in any Wal-Mart. Today, Rice Krispie Treats are sold by the pack, decorated cupcakes by the dozen, and candy apples at the county fair but it was so nice when mothers and dads took the time to really get into the spirit (notice my cute pun) of the night.

Halloween was so much fun then. We didn't worry about razor blades in our apples, pedifiles darting out from behind trees, or satanists dressed up as Raggedy Ann and Andy. It was safe, it was fun, and it was...okay, it was Mayberry. But really, could you ever in your wildest dreams see Aunt Bee lacing her cookies with dope?

Me neither.

Okay, we're older now, times really have changed and yes, there is danger lurking around many a corner but let's not allow our fears to take away the enjoyment of what used to be a much-loved holiday. Dig deep. Find the child inside you and let it out for one night. The innocence and wonder of children lasts such a short time so there's nothing wrong with a little make-believe now and then.

No matter what some say, there is nothing evil about pumpkins, jack-olanterns, ghosts clad in bedsheets, or witches with press-on warts and I'm pretty sure the devil doesn't live inside my cousin's black cat. (His dog, on the other hand, is definitely possessed.)

The Bible does warn us about witches and black magic but if your kid isn't seeing dead people and spewing green bile out of his nose and eyes, I'm guessing you don't have much to worry about.

So dress up that little ballerina, Dora the Explorer, or Thomas the Train, and go out and have some fun. Don a costume yourself, re-live the thrill of trick-or-treating. [Hint: If you bite down on a Tootsie Pop and realize you've left your dentures at home, you may need to sit this one out. Likewise, if someone tells you they love your scary mask and you're not wearing one, it might be better to hang back and leave the door-bell ringing to the kids.]

Why not host a Halloween party and invite all your friends to dress up as their favorite childhood heroes, like Superman, the Incredible Hulk, or Wonder Woman? You'd have a blast!

One last tip though: Don't ask the Invisible Man. He won't show up. Never does.

Oh, he'll make up excuses, all right, but they're all so....well...so transparent.

Now, go have some fun. Happy Halloween, Dear Hearts!