Happy Halloween!

Good morning and Happy Halloween to all.

Essentially, this will be our first Halloween in two years. Last year's holiday was unofficially canceled because of Hurricane Wilma. Although we've now been in our neighborhood for a year-and-a-half, this will be the first time that we actually get to see how Halloween works in our neck of the woods.

Our 9-year-old neighbor has been hanging out at our house quite a bit in recent days. Apparently, having a baby means that your house is now open to children who like to just show up and watch us be parents. While helping us scoop out the junk from inside of our pumpkin last night, she warned us about a neighborhood scam that happens every year at this time. We've been told to look out for teenagers who get candy from us, then go to the end of the street, change into another costume and return for a second helping. Personally, I admire the creativity of these mini-entrepreneurs and I may reward them with a third piece of candy just for the effort. If it gets out of hand, I'm prepared to set up a little CSI lab and fingerprint each child as they receive their first Almond Joy. When they come back, we'll give them a can of tuna so they know we're on to them.

On the other side of the street, our neighbors have asked us to join them at the end of the driveway for chili.

Yes, that's right... chili. This is their Halloween tradition. As an adult, I actually prefer slow-cooked meat and beans to Butterfinger bars. However, I would have to guess that the kids in the neighborhood will be more than a little annoyed when somebody plops a ladel-full of chili into their pillowcase. We'll just play along and avoid making waves. After all, we're still the "new people" in the neighborhood. Maybe we'll bring some Saltines out there as an extra treat for the kids.

I'm told it might be illegal for us to give shots of Jagermeister so we might wait a year before we figure out what our inappropriate tradition will be.

I guess the chili thing works for them, because they seem very excited about it. Maybe I'll tell them that I still curse the old lady who used to give out nickels in my neighborhood. I wonder what ever happened to that horrible old woman. Maybe she's giving kids dimes now.