Halloween

Halloween came and went this year and though I did celebrate to some extent with friends, I did not attend any festive, costume parties nor did I carve any pumpkins. Pathetic? perhaps. But I did spend Halloween evening at a friend's house passing out candy to the 300 or so (I am not exaggerating) kids (and adults) that came to the front porch while sipping on spiced wine, enjoying the minimal heat of the chiminea, and laughing hysterically at the awesomeness that is passing out halloween candy.

Though my friends requested I show up in costume, I did not have anything that screamed WEAR ME so I simply borrowed an elf hat that complemented my red jacket. One kid asked me if I were a strawberry. Nope. But sure, why not!

Evie dressed up as a banana. 

I was surprised by the number of visitors we received who did not live in the neighborhood (or even the surrounding neighborhood) but were dropped off by the van-fuls in U City. It was unreal. At multiple times throughout the night, we had a long line of kids waiting to approach the porch and request candy, as if we were the newest nightclub on the block with a line to get in. It felt glamorous at times....and overwhelming constantly.

I was also surprised by the St. Louis tradition that kids do not only say "Trick or Treat!" and receive candy as occurs in what I believe to be the rest of America; rather, kids are asked to provide a joke, song, or dance in order to get candy. What is that!? Students of mine from St. Louis say they know no other way and students not from St. Louis think it's banana peppers crazy. But I must say I was highly amused and entertained by the jokes these kids came up with!

Some highlights:

"Why wasn't the ghost able to drive home after the party?"

"Because he was sheet-faced!"

"Why didn't the skeleton cross the street?"

"Because he didn't have any guts!"

And the most inappropriate of the night:

"Why did Johnny fall off the swing?"

"Because he didn't have any arms."

"Knock, knock."

"Who's there?"

"Not Johnny!"

When we asked the kid who told us this gem why Johnny didn't have any arms, he responded, "Because he has an arm disorder." Oh, I see.

Only a fraction of the candy we went through. 

We passed out candy for a solid two hours before shutting the door and turning off the porch light. That didn't stop kids from continuing to knock but when you're out, you're out! We spent the remainder of the evening laughing about the previous two hours, watching American Horror Story: Asylum, and enjoying the company of friends who came over later in the evening.

All in all, a great Halloween in my books. Cheers.