The cool thing about sitting out in the driveway on Halloween is that you get up close and personal with the treaters.  You get to see them in their natural element – the costumed herd …pack? …covey?  They spread out in front of you.  You aren’t forced to see them in that single file parade as they squeeze into your open doorway.  You see the parents who are brave enough to walk up the driveway with the young ones.  You get to wave to the parents who are brave enough to let their young ones walk up to you alone.  You get to hear the kids talk and sometimes say more than “Trick or Treat…Hot Tamales! Cool…Love your costumes.”  Did we mention we get dressed up to sit on the driveway?  (Actually at least one of us gets dressed up and goes to work like that all day.  It’s a thing, what can I say.  But not the funny thing.

The funny thing that happened on Halloween was that it rained.  Yes it rained and the treaters weren’t in their usual droves.  They more or less sputtered.  There would be a small herd(?) of them, then a pause.  Then there would be mini pack(?) of them, then a pause. There would be… you get the idea.  Lots of time to sit in the rain at the top of the driveway, under the tent (we might be a little nuts but we aren’t crazy), watching the world go by.  And what did we notice as the world went by?  Where are all the cool costumes?

We don’t mean the portable blow up with its own battery operated fan sumo wrestler costume.  We don’t mean the matching Bam Bam and Pebbles costumes.  We don’t mean the hot dog or the M&M or the Darth Vader.  We mean the really cool ones.  The ones you and your parents made yourselves when you were 10 and you didn’t have all the imagination sucked out of you by the most recent computer game.  You remember them – the bunch of grapes made out of purple balloons and a hunk of green fabric for the stem.  Maybe a radio made out of a cardboard box the size of a small refrigerator that you couldn’t hold a treat bag when you had it on but you wore it anyway.  You just made your best friend who you couldn’t go trick or treating without carry your bag.  Or how about the year you spread ashes over your face, called it a beard, found your dad’s oldest lawn mowing shirt, got some jeans, and went as a hobo.  Today you’d be chased down the street by a TV crew doing a future award winning special on the cruelty of children making fun of our homeless brethren.  Back then that was just cool.

No imagination any more.  But the kids come by it honestly.  After a couple hours sitting in the rain (under our tent) we hauled everything into the garage, freshened up our costumes, and headed out to the corner tavern for a round of appetizers and an adult beverage.  What did we find?  Three other couples.  None in costume.  Fourth year running.  On the only day of the year that we are encouraged to be somebody else nobody wanted to.  Bet there were a lot of people at work the next day wishing they were anybody else.  Take a couple minutes once a year to be somebody else.  You’ll be better at who you are for it.

That’s what we think.  Really.  How ‘bout you?