Celebrating Halloween

 Tonight is Halloween and people, especially children, like to dress up in.  Scary costumes are prevalent.  I like to celebrate Halloween as an opportunity to catechize.  I explain that our dead are more alive than we are in heaven.  They are still with us.  It's a communion of saints.  We pray for our deceased loved ones and they pray for us.  

I can't forget the candy.  Children ring the doorbells and people give them candy.  I can give and give and unlike Christmas, no one says, "Oops, I forgot to give them something."  It's a time to give and remember.  

Enjoy the moment.

Halloween at the Brick School

It’s known as the Brick School.  At one time, all the children in Franklin attended that school.  It was remembered quite fondly by the residents.  But time goes on and change is inevitable.  The town grew and needed more schools—bigger and better schools.  Inevitably, the town closed the school.  And there it sat—unused. 

That was the state of the building until this one particular Halloween night.  Neighbors noticed that there were lights in the windows.  When people approached the school, children’s voices were heard.  The children were singing:

One little, two little, three little pumpkins,
Four little, five little, six little pumpkins,
Seven little, eight little, Nine little pumpkins,
All for Halloween night.

People tried the door, but it was locked.  The windows were locked, also.  What was going on? What mischief was this on Halloween night?  

Word spread quickly and soon the entire neighborhood surrounded the Brick School.  The mood was curiously anticipatory.  Everyone wondered what to make of it.

Since the neighborhood was gathered around the school and in the schoolyard, no one noticed that all the trick or treat candy was disappearing from the neighborhood’s houses.  Silently and stealthily, little ghosts and goblins, princesses and pirates, werewolves and witches, entered the neighborhood’s homes and took all the Halloween treats. 

The people at the Brick School were oblivious.  Eventually, the children’s singing inside the school faded out.  All was silent.  The lights went out--rather suddenly! 

The crowd gasped.  There seemed to be a collective blink.  But then everyone laughed nervously and walked home talking about the strange event.  No one knew what to make of it. 

And no one knew what to make of their stolen candy, either.  But I will tell you one thing; everyone kept a closer eye on the Brick School from then on.  And the town council and school committee didn’t dare demolish the old building.  In fact, from that night on, it became a Halloween tradition for the neighborhood to gather around the Brick School to party and sing:

One little, two little, three little pumpkins,
Four little, five little, six little pumpkins,
Seven little, eight little, Nine little pumpkins,
All for Halloween night.

Glowing in the Dark

My granddaughter and I have tea and dessert, after school.  This afternoon, she spilled her tea on her dress.  It just so happened that I had bought her a Halloween tee shirt and gave it to her to put on.  The front of the shirt had a huge jack-o-lantern on it.  There was a sticker on the shirt that stated, "Glows in the dark."  When Daddy came to pick my granddaughter up, I noted that he picked off that sticker.

Fast forward a few hours, and I'm going into the prison for study-group.  I have to go through a security check, just like people do at the airport.  When being searched, the correctional officer asked me if I glow in the dark.

Immediately, I knew what happened.  The "Glows in the dark" sticker was stuck on my back.

Very funny.

Trick or Treat

I remember Trick or Treating one Halloween night with my little brother, Joey.  My friends and I were enjoying ourselves telling stories to scare Joey.  At first he laughed, but after a while, the laughter turned to nervous chuckling.  That only encouraged us to tease him more.

“Look out Joey.  A bat was trying to get in your hair.” 

“You better keep up with us Joey, because if the boogey man jumps out to grab us, we’re running fast.”

The fun continued until we got to old Mr. Compton’s house.  “Joey, this house is haunted.  Be careful.”

We rang the doorbell. 

We heard creepy music.

 The door  s-l-o-w-l-y  creaked open. 

Old Mr. Compton stood before us and we shouted, “Trick or Treat!  Trick or Treat!”

…and we opened our pillow case trick or treat bags.

Old Mr. Compton laughed, and laughed, and laughed,-- slapping his thighs and laughing, -- throwing his head back and laughing, so much that his false teeth fell out of his mouth right into Joey’s trick or treat pillow case.

Silence.

Then Joey screamed, dropped his pillow case, and took off like a devil in an exorcism.

Trick or treat.

Halloween Skit

What do you think of my Halloween skit for T.O.P.S.?  I've had a lot of fun composing it.

Halloween Skit

Characters:

                                Narrator

          Shopper

          Good Angel

           Bad Angel

           Trick or Treater

Props:

                Toy shopping cart or basket for a few items

Candy, Halloween stickers, small cans playdoh, noisemakers, Halloween pencils, Halloween bouncy balls, temporary tattoos, small bottles of bubbles, sugar free gum, raisins, etc.

Costume for the Trick or Treater

Face Mask

Narrator:  Halloween will be here before you know it and we all know that Halloween, to most children, means candy.  To promote good nutrition and dental health, is the aim of T.O.P.S. members.  So when trick-or-treaters ring your door bell, offer them some fun alternatives, instead of sugary treats.

Here is a T.O.P.S. member shopping for Halloween treats.

Shopper:        Let’s see.  What should I buy?  What do little kids like?

Bad Angel:     Candy, you dolt!

Good Angel:  Not candy.  Too much sugar.

Shopper:        Candy isn’t good for teeth either.  I don’t want to contribute to their dentists’ yacht fund.

Bad Angel:     It’s Halloween!  One time a year won’t hurt.

Good Angel:  The little kiddies binge on Halloween.  This sets up a bad precedent.

Bad Angel:     Precedent?  President?  Peppermint!  Yes, buy peppermints.  They’re good for you.

Shopper:        It is Halloween.  It is only one night.  Maybe some candy isn’t so bad.

Bad Angel:     Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Ha, ha, ha, ha, (maniacal glee)

Good Angel:  Wait a minute.  Not so fast.  Kids don’t have to have food to have fun.  What kind of message is a T.O.P.S. giving?

Shopper:        I really want to encourage good eating habits.

Bad Angel:     Bah!

Shopper:        I don’t want to give the message that only sweets are good.  But what else do kids like?

Bad Angel:     Cigarettes

Good Angel:  There are lots of fun alternatives to candy.  Look here’s some:

Apples and boxes of raisins, and sun flower seeds

Bad Angel:     GAG!

Good Angel:  and there’s
Stickers,                                  Place items in the cart.
Halloween pencils,
Halloween bouncy balls,
Temporary tattoos,
bubbles,
balloons,
sugar free gum,
etc.

Shopper:        This is the perfect solution.  Kids will be so happy.  And I’m happy.

Bad Angel:     And I’m disgusted.

Good Angel:  And I’m De-e-e-lighted!

Narrator:       It’s now Halloween.  Our T.O.P.S.  shopper has put all the good non-candy alternatives in a big bowl.  The trick-or-treaters can now pick out what they want.  They love doing that.

Bad Angel (wearing face mask):      Trick or Treat!

Good Angel:  What are you supposed to be?

Bad Angel:     A politician

Good Angel:  Figures.

Narrator:       I hear the doorbell.  (Ring a bell, or knock loudly on the door)

Shopper:        Ooohoooh,  I hear someone.

Narrator:       The door is opened.

Trick-or-Treater:      TRICK-OR-TREAT!  TRICK-OR-TREAT!

Shopper:        Oh how cute!  Here’s your treat.  Pick something out of the bowl.

Narrator:       Note how happy the child is. 

Trick-or-Treater:      Thank you.

Shopper:        You’re welcome.  Enjoy.

Good Angel:  Aren’t you glad you listened to me?

Bad Angel:     Hey!  Tomorrow the stores put all their Halloween candy on sale.  Everybody loves a bargain.

Good Angel:  But our T.O.P.S. are intelligent.  They control their emotions, and don’t let emotions control them. …

Narrator: Let’s everyone sing:

Halloween Song: (To the tune of “She’ll Be Comin Around the Mountain)

Oh, we’ll give away all goodies when they come.
Yes, we’ll give away all the goodies when they come.
We won’t buy any candy.  No, we won’t sneak any candy.
No, we won’t eat any candy when they come.

Oh, we’ll give away all goodies when they come.
Yes, we’ll give away all the goodies when they come.
To the witches and the ghosties, to the pirates and the bums,
And we’ll all weigh in with losses, every one!