October has come and gone, which means my favorite holiday is over for another year. Halloween has turned into a month-long celebration for me, and I put my decorations out on October 1st this year. In fact, I still need to take them down – I’ve been sick the past few days and haven’t done much of anything.
Growing up in Central Florida, I loved trick-or-treating but never really felt the Halloween spirit – there were no fall leaves crunching under my ruby slippers, no brisk wind to make me pull my Wonder Girl cape closer around me, no crumbling headstones to snag my Renaissance princess dress.
Now that I’m in Atlanta, I get the fall leaves and the chilly air and the old cemetery, and there are certain October rituals that I look forward to every year. My girlfriend Coco and I head to Netherworld each year for their two superb haunted houses. We outdid outselves this year by also heading to Creepers in Marietta and Camp Blood, a haunted trail in Carrollton.
The Halloween parade in Little 5 Points is also an annual tradition. Everyone meets up at our house, and we jump on our scooters and ride down to The Vortex. The people-watching is almost as interesting as the parade. I wore my Velma (as in Scooby-Doo) costume again this year, and several little kids got really excited about seeing me. I had a lunchbox full of candy when I started, and by the time we got on the scooter and puttered on home, it was nearly empty.
After Dan and Coco’s annual pumpkin-carving party, and a Halloween party, I was pretty happy with my October by the time the 31st rolled around. Ed and I stayed home to give candy to trick-or-treaters. We got a good number this year, probably 20 or so kids, which is great considering only three children live in our neighborhood. They were all very polite and I always love seeing the costumes.
Only one more year until next Halloween! I hope yours was as happy as mine.
