Trick or Treat!
Because this is the first Halloween in our new house, I’m looking forward to this evening mostly with anticipation and only a slight twinge of concern. No, I don’t anticipate the house getting egged or T.P.’d — and that wouldn’t be such a big deal, anyway. My real worry is: What if I don’t have enough candy?!?
When we moved into our former home in East Wenatchee, we’d heard that our neighborhood was a HUGE favorite with trick-or-treaters from, literally, miles around. It seemed that our large development of upscale homes, set on quiet, well-lit streets with wide sidewalks, drew the farm kids who could count their neighbors on their thumbs as well as town kids looking for a safe environment that promised a good haul. The first two years we underestimated what we’d need to satisfy the hoards, even given fair warning by our neighbors, and had to make a mad dash down the hill for more supplies mid-way through the evening. Let me tell you, being the one answering the door as the candy diminishes in the bowl, anxiously awaiting the return of your spouse with reinforcements (while wondering if handing out last year’s leftover candy canes might fill the breach should the bowl run dry), is NOT fun.
I haven’t been here long enough or talked to enough neighbors who were here last year to have a good sense of what to expect in terms of numbers tonight. Besides, between last October and now, more homes have been completed in our development, so a count from last year wouldn’t be all that reliable. I’ve seen mommies pushing strollers through the neighborhood, toddlers at the park, grade-schoolers walking to the bus stop and teens vrooming up and down the street, so I know there are plenty of families around. Counting against us is the fact that we’re on the last street in the development, with several empty lots scattered around. Candy seekers, especially the younger ones, may glance down our way and decide the time and effort to trek this way won’t be worth the perhaps meager return in treats (I can still think like a trick-or-treater, even if those days are far behind me!).
So, I have maybe 100 or so “fun-size” bars (of a variety I’m not particularly fond of, so if the night is a total bust, I won’t be so tempted to devour the leftovers in just a few days — the beginning of the winter weight gain). That would be a laughable number in our old neighborhood, where even 500 might not get you through the night if the weather was decent and it was a Friday or Saturday. I’ll be solo tonight, as Harry is helping out at his Kiwanis club’s annual safe Halloween event up in Rogue River. There won’t be any rescue if half the town decides ours would be a good neighborhood to visit this year . . .
Maybe I’d better run out for a few extra bags of candy right now.
Happy Halloween!
– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader
