Halloween

The weather was chilly and wet for Halloween this year. In spite of that, 42 trick-or-treaters came to my door for candy. That is a little less than many past years, but not too bad considering the weather. Adam did his best to scare the little ghosts and fairy princesses. About half of the kids (and adults) who visited wore costumes, my neighborhood is relatively poor and some of the families just can't afford to buy costumes. I gave out 2 pieces of candy to each of the visitors, then started giving out 3 toward the end when the older kids and adults were coming around.

I was very amused by one of the early trick-or-treaters. It was a Middle Eastern man in his 20s. His costume consisted of a red bandana tied over the top of his head. When I opened the door he stuck out both hands (he didn't have a candy bag) and said in a heavy accent: "Trick-or-treat" and then "Candy" just to clarify his request. Syracuse has a large refugee and immigrant community. It is amusing to see them interpret and adapt to our very strange holiday of Halloween.

Here is the count of Halloween trick-or-treaters that have come to my house for each of the past 10 years:

2003: 33
2004: 57
2005: 69
2006: 64
2007: 53
2008: 26
2009: 43
2010: 42
2011: 55
2012: 42


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