HALLOWEEN SPOOKS

Happy ALMOST Halloween..
My brain swirls to the sequence in MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS when Tootie, an adorable Margaret O'Brien, goes out on all Hallows Eve and makes her mark as a fearless warrior among a bunch of doubting peers.
When I was young we kinda did the same thing. We went out into the cool October night
and went house to house and dressed in various shreds and patches, all of our own creating as who could afford to buy a "real" costume? Armed with an old pillowcase for TREATS and a paper bag full of tricks we ventured into the eerie unknown. These paper bags included large colored stems of chalk for marking others who resisited and small amounts of flour to throw. Primitrive perhaps but so much fun.
Some people threw pennies, as well as candy, into our goodie bags. When a nickel or dime was found we thought we struck gold!
THe night was filled with goblins and witches and boney skeletal appartitions.
And all being watched and warmed by the glow of the carved pumpkins adorning the stoops under the shedding autumn trees.
The brisk air and the clear skies, playing follow the leader as we naughtily invaded the backyards and clmbed over garage roofs and balanced on the fences that divided the various properties. We rode our 24 inch Shwinns and English racers played stickball in the wide streets and on weekends we managed to gather at the PS 15 schoolyard and play dodgeball!
The black & white FREID-EISMAN CONSOLE TV in the front porchlike room was enough to keep me entertained. That and the 45 record collections we all loved.
Our house was a mock English tudor and my front bedroom was in the soothing flutter and dappled shadows of the swaying maples trees, or it seemed that way as the brnaches reached across the front lawn. I loved waking up in that many windowed room.
That one room was almost half of my current apartment.
The Halloweens were also full of the aroma of fresh baked cookies and goodies. But the most memorable and immediate aroma that I connect with the Fall Halloween season is the smell from the smoldering piles of raked leaves that lined the curbs in front of the houses. I can still see the trails of smoke rising lilke ghhostly sentinels along the street.
We could burn leaves then and with the garden hose nearby we set the piles on fire and the heady incense was a sure telling that the season had taken hold.
Everyone was responsible and careful and there were never any mishaps with fire.
I had my cousin living only about 3/4 of a mile away and I would ride my bike to his house and we would play all day and dig roads in the bakyard dirt for our model cars to ride on.
I don't remember what costumes we wore but one Halloween we had matching Hopalong Cassidy (a very popular TV Cowboy hero) western outfits. They were complete with big black hat,leather holsters and two silver six shooters, The high heeled cowboy boots were the authentic touch we were proudest of. It made us tall, if not in the saddle then in our mind.
My cousin was so cute they took his picture ,guns drawn, and hung it large in a Bank. Don't ask me why I just remember that, but I do.
We had costume day at school and that was always fun. I made the mistake of having my Mom throw a drag outfit together for me and I wore a pair of her platform red snake skin open toed ankle strap shoes.
My feet have NEVER been the same . How do you girls do it?
ANyway..tomorrow is many Halloween moons away from those eerie and wondeful younger days. I can't help but think ,as I look at the kids nowadays as they trot to the local school all done up as Ghosts and Ballarinas "I hope they eventually hold as much joy for these days as I do."

BOOOOO
xxx
KEYBORED