I grew up on South Quincy Street here in Alexandria….on the east side of the Soo Line Tracks.  It was a modest and close knit neighborhood of about twenty square blocks in which all of the kids knew each other.

We did not trick-or-treat outside of our neighborhood.  We didn’t have fancy costumes. 

We were usually bums or ghosts.  To be a bum all you needed were your dad’s gardening clothes, some dirt on your face and some rocks bundled up in a scarf tied onto a tree branch.   A ghost, well…I’m sure no explanation is required.  Our treats were usually apples, popcorn balls or a Tootsie Roll.

Times have certainly changed.  These days you can go to one of a dozen local stores and buy professional-looking costumes ranging from Ninja Turtles to Snow White to Scooby Doo; and they aren’t all that expensive.  And treats have changed.  Tonight my twin granddaughters called me from Woodbury, MN.  At one home in their neighborhood they were each given a full-day pass to the amusement park at Mall of America!  And full-size candy bars are common treats.

Each year at the Viking Plaza Mall the merchants hand out treats from 3:00 – 6:00 pm on Halloween.  I consulted with my grandson as to what treats to buy.  He said under no circumstances was I to buy those big bags of generic candy that no self respecting kid would want to get.  I could, however, buy anything with “Hershey” on it, 100-Grands, Skittles or Snickers, which I did..in the mini-size!  Thanks, Zach, for that good…and expensive…advice! 

Going to the mall is a safe alternative to trick-or-treating door-to-door; and since the outdoor temperature was 24 degrees, the kids can trick-or-treat at the mall without their coats and show off their elaborate costumes.   Today we handed out 400 pieces of candy at Patticake’s.  It was indeed a Happy Halloween!