Halloween is in the air and tea cakes are on the plate

Khaki (my mother) and my sister Andrea are two of the biggest Halloween fanatics I have ever met. Halloween on North Park Street in my hometown is like Bourbon Street for children. To have a thousand trick-or-treaters stop by is a conservative number. It’s always been a hotspot, but for some reason the popularity of the place exploded about 10 years ago. I haven’t been in a couple years but will get my chance this weekend. The excitement is already killing me.

I’m not sure who to thank or chastise for the level of participation. The evening begins with us thinking how great it is to see all the ghouls and goblins with the super heroes and princesses, but a couple hours into it we get a little claustrophobic. It quickly turns into shift work. One person goes inside to rest a spell while another works the candy basket. Grumblings of “I hope my kids don’t act like that,” and, “isn’t this one a little old to be doing this?” quite literally wash away once the final Jolly Rancher hits the last plastic pumpkin and the porch light is extinguished.