Eternal Boys and Girls, Oh My

When I was a wee Bronx Djinn, I was like all the other kids. I liked Halloween, the secular manifestation of the religiously based All Hallow's Eve. I'd get dressed as a Princess or something like that and with my cousins Barbara and Carol, accompanied by Aunt Rita, we'd go from building to building on our block, yelling "Trick or Treat" and getting some favorites in the seasonal shopping bag, Nestle     Crunch, Bazooka Bubble Gum and pennies and nickels. Sometimes, I seem to remember stopping to bob an apple or two at one of the buildings across the street.

We did not worry too much about dangerous candy--this being the era before razors in your gummy bears--although even then we weren't allowed to eat the unwrapped donations.

I grew up and not having children of my own, gave nary a thought to Halloween. But when I came to California and moved into my first neighborhood (and only one until about a month ago) in the Fairfax District, that first year, I had plenty of candy for the kids. But none came. In those days, it was attributable to the fact that most of the children were from religious Jewish families.  The neighborhood became more mixed ethnically, religiously and secular-ly, but by then we did have to worry about the people who hurt children and so trick or treating was like taking a dive off a cliff. So, still no children came to the door.

What had happened, though, was that adults made Halloween--the former province of children--their own, dressing up, like in this picture, say as Captain America, or the Faeirie Godmother in one or another of those tales, like Cinderella and partying hardy with modern candy or magical dust of one sort or another (wink wink).

Here in Los Angeles, they close entire blocks, at taxpayer expense, so that these 20, 30, 40 and who knows whether it goes into the 50s-somethings can cavort as skeletons on the boulevards. My vet had to deal with its own "skeleton" staff, because people could not get in and out of the area. Don't have a sick cat or dog on the night of the pumpkins and werewolves!

I hear that around Hollywood Boulevard there was a shooting, and they had to close that part of town down.
Some pour soul is now officially a ghoul.

Maybe we should return this holiday to the children.