The Vent and Rant Thread - Page 1307

pdurrant · 10-31-2011, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wannabee

Two years ago, out of the blue, our neighbours kids knocked on the door dressed as witches. Well, in over fifty years the only trick or treat'n I've seen was on American TV.
So last year we stocked up on treats but no witches or gouls and the same tonight.
I've still only seen two witches at my front door in 52 years.

Do you put out a pumpkin? In our neighbourhood, trick or treaters only go to houses that show they're willing to be visited.

But customs certainly vary, both in time and space. I now live in the city in which I grew up. It would never have occurred to me when I was a child to go trick or treating, but I do remember doing Penny-For-The-Guy one year. It's the other way around now.

wannabee · 10-31-2011, 06:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Do you put out a pumpkin? In our neighbourhood, trick or treaters only go to houses that show they're willing to be visited.

But customs certainly vary, both in time and space. I now live in the city in which I grew up. It would never have occurred to me when I was a child to go trick or treating, but I do remember doing Penny-For-The-Guy one year. It's the other way around now.

No. Halloween is a foreign custom and I would have been just as taken by surprise if a Muslim neighbour asked if we were going to observe Ramadan.
We don't have any customs here that come close to Halloween.
You would have to learn it from sesame street or similar. I don't watch those kind of shows.

Edit... There are no pumpkins on show anywhere around here.

HomeInMyShoes · 10-31-2011, 07:05 AM

We have treaters. Last year in Newfoundland we had about 120 kids. I've quizzed the neighbours here and we should see somewhere between 20 and 50 depending on the weather. So far the forecast looks good so 50 maybe.

Treaters shouldn't show up after 8:30pm. We'll turn the front light off then. I'm not looking forward to trying to get the two year old to bed tonight before 9:00pm.

Stitchawl · 10-31-2011, 08:06 AM

Happy Halloween to everyone!

Stitchawl · 10-31-2011, 08:09 AM

Halloween... my mother would help us carve a pumpkin every year, and we'd put it outside our door to let people know that we were home and accepting trick or treaters. She would hand out miniature candy bars (Hershey, Mars, Snickers, etc.) to all the kids.

It was a wonderful tradition when I was small. There were hundreds of goblins, witches, cowboys, Supermen, Princesses, etc., all running all over the neighborhood. I grew up in a major city, in an apartment neighborhood, six tall building on every block, between 60-100 apartments in each. We would run from building to building.

We would have a large shopping bag in one hand and a UNICEF can in the other. If the apartment dwellers gave pennies, they went into the charity can. Treats all went into the shopping bags. After two or three buildings we'd have to run home to get another empty shopping bag! A good evening would net a kid 6-7 large shopping bags full of candy bar miniatures, small bags of chips, bags of M&Ms, candy corn, lollipops, etc., etc., etc. My parents always made us throw away any foods that weren't factory sealed, so into the trash went candy apples, popcorn balls, cakes, etc. (My mother would 'secretly' throw away handfuls of my 'good' stash each day, thinking I wouldn't notice as she didn't want me eating so much junk. God bless 'er!)

Younger children were accompanied by parents, who instead of shopping bags carried shot glasses... A good time was had by all. Older kids, too old to go trick or treating, had shaving cream fights, chalk fights, egg fights, but only between themselves. The younger children would be able to pass through in safety.

Then came the stories of needles found inside apples, pins inside candy bars, chocolate laxatives instead of chocolate candy... and parents began keeping their children at home. More stories of missing kids, never to be found again... and more parents began keeping their children home.

Instead of having 75-100 kids knocking on our doors, we had 2 or 3. They lived in the same building and our parents knew their parents. But a few years later, when they grew too old to go trick or treating, the door bell became silent on Halloween.

And then there were none.

Stitchawl

pholy · 10-31-2011, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SneakySnake

wondering what part was 65 years old?

Umm, just the knees - for now...

wodin · 10-31-2011, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Snow. In October.

That is all.

I have fond memories of trick-r-treating in snow up to my lil' okole. 'course in those days my okole was a lot closer to the ground than it is now.

Tha's why I live Hawaii now.

wannabee · 10-31-2011, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Halloween...
I grew up . . . .
And then there were none.
Stitchawl

Sad ay!

Back when I was a kid the only thing we knew about Halloween was that Linus thought the Great Pumpkin would rise up from the pumpkin patch. He never did.

WT Sharpe · 10-31-2011, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

...mini-rant
nobody warned me that the ear-hair stuff starts with 30-something
they really are annoying

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Turn a problem into a solution!

I let it grow long, and together with my eyebrows, use it for a comb-over!...

And here's a tip I recall from an old cartoon by the late Don Martin ("Mad's Maddest Artist"): "You can't train nose hairs."

DixieGal · 10-31-2011, 05:58 PM

Yes, the Great Punkin does rise. You must have been bad and gotten a bag of switches instead.

I LOVED Halloween!

covingtoncat73 · 10-31-2011, 06:31 PM

*Sigh* [Rant about work I thought better about posting. Suffice it to say that working Halloween evening is far from the only reason I hate my job.]

Stitchawl · 11-01-2011, 07:27 AM

I just saw a news headline; "Hillary Clinton's Mother Falls Ill"

Why is this a news headline? Why would anyone outside of Hillery Clinton's family and friends need to know this? Why wasn't there a news headline when Tommy Schaeffer's mother fell ill? That certainly had as much effect on the world.

I'm sorry the woman is sick. I wish her a full and speedy recovery. But please... don't tell me about it. This is like Facebook entries where some tells the entire world that they just threw away last year's telephone directory.

Stitchawl

WT Sharpe · 11-01-2011, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I just saw a news headline; "Hillary Clinton's Mother Falls Ill"

Why is this a news headline? Why would anyone outside of Hillery Clinton's family and friends need to know this? Why wasn't there a news headline when Tommy Schaeffer's mother fell ill? That certainly had as much effect on the world.

I'm sorry the woman is sick. I wish her a full and speedy recovery. But please... don't tell me about it. This is like Facebook entries where some tells the entire world that they just threw away last year's telephone directory.

Stitchawl

I can see why this would be a headline. As the Secretary of State, anything that interferes with her normal duties is news. She was forced to cancel an official trip to Britain and Turkey because of this. I too wish her mother the best; but unfortunately for Mrs. Clinton her job places certain necessary restrictions on her privacy.

HomeInMyShoes · 11-01-2011, 09:26 AM

I have to say, taking the almost two year old out last night was hilarious. Some house had paper lanterns along the front path and he spent ten minutes just doing a slalom course around them.

It was also the first Hallowe'en that I've been treated to a shot of sambuca to "keep the parents warm".

dreams · 11-01-2011, 01:27 PM

No trick or treaters at all last night.

It has become less and less over the years. Now, schools and churches have Fall carnivals and serve dinners before the carnival. That keeps a large number of kids in one place and not in the neighborhoods. Also, many parents are getting together to have their own Halloween Parties, that keep the kiddies inside.

I guess, I'll just have to eat the candy myself.

I remember doing the same thing as Stitchawl. My father would drop the tailgate of his truck and drive a group of us kids to the beginning of a street and wait for us to come back, then drive us to the next one. We used pillow cases to gather our treats and came home with them totally full. We would pour them out and trade back and forth for our favorites, when we arrived back home.

10-31-2011, 08:06 AM	#19594
Stitchawl Opsimath Posts: 12,344 Karma: 187123287 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand Device: Sony PRS-650, iPhone 5, Kobo Glo, Sony PRS-350, iPad, Samsung Galaxy	Happy Halloween to everyone! Last edited by Stitchawl; 10-31-2011 at 08:09 AM.

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10-31-2011, 07:05 AM	#19593
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	We have treaters. Last year in Newfoundland we had about 120 kids. I've quizzed the neighbours here and we should see somewhere between 20 and 50 depending on the weather. So far the forecast looks good so 50 maybe. Treaters shouldn't show up after 8:30pm. We'll turn the front light off then. I'm not looking forward to trying to get the two year old to bed tonight before 9:00pm.

10-31-2011, 08:09 AM	#19595
Stitchawl Opsimath Posts: 12,344 Karma: 187123287 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand Device: Sony PRS-650, iPhone 5, Kobo Glo, Sony PRS-350, iPad, Samsung Galaxy	Halloween... my mother would help us carve a pumpkin every year, and we'd put it outside our door to let people know that we were home and accepting trick or treaters. She would hand out miniature candy bars (Hershey, Mars, Snickers, etc.) to all the kids. It was a wonderful tradition when I was small. There were hundreds of goblins, witches, cowboys, Supermen, Princesses, etc., all running all over the neighborhood. I grew up in a major city, in an apartment neighborhood, six tall building on every block, between 60-100 apartments in each. We would run from building to building. We would have a large shopping bag in one hand and a UNICEF can in the other. If the apartment dwellers gave pennies, they went into the charity can. Treats all went into the shopping bags. After two or three buildings we'd have to run home to get another empty shopping bag! A good evening would net a kid 6-7 large shopping bags full of candy bar miniatures, small bags of chips, bags of M&Ms, candy corn, lollipops, etc., etc., etc. My parents always made us throw away any foods that weren't factory sealed, so into the trash went candy apples, popcorn balls, cakes, etc. (My mother would 'secretly' throw away handfuls of my 'good' stash each day, thinking I wouldn't notice as she didn't want me eating so much junk. God bless 'er!) Younger children were accompanied by parents, who instead of shopping bags carried shot glasses... A good time was had by all. Older kids, too old to go trick or treating, had shaving cream fights, chalk fights, egg fights, but only between themselves. The younger children would be able to pass through in safety. Then came the stories of needles found inside apples, pins inside candy bars, chocolate laxatives instead of chocolate candy... and parents began keeping their children at home. More stories of missing kids, never to be found again... and more parents began keeping their children home. Instead of having 75-100 kids knocking on our doors, we had 2 or 3. They lived in the same building and our parents knew their parents. But a few years later, when they grew too old to go trick or treating, the door bell became silent on Halloween. And then there were none. Stitchawl

10-31-2011, 05:58 PM	#19600
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	Yes, the Great Punkin does rise. You must have been bad and gotten a bag of switches instead. I LOVED Halloween!

10-31-2011, 06:31 PM	#19601
covingtoncat73 Wizard Posts: 2,745 Karma: 83407757 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Lenovo Duet Chromebook, Moto e	Sigh [Rant about work I thought better about posting. Suffice it to say that working Halloween evening is far from the only reason I hate my job.]

11-01-2011, 07:27 AM	#19602
Stitchawl Opsimath Posts: 12,344 Karma: 187123287 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand Device: Sony PRS-650, iPhone 5, Kobo Glo, Sony PRS-350, iPad, Samsung Galaxy	I just saw a news headline; "Hillary Clinton's Mother Falls Ill" Why is this a news headline? Why would anyone outside of Hillery Clinton's family and friends need to know this? Why wasn't there a news headline when Tommy Schaeffer's mother fell ill? That certainly had as much effect on the world. I'm sorry the woman is sick. I wish her a full and speedy recovery. But please... don't tell me about it. This is like Facebook entries where some tells the entire world that they just threw away last year's telephone directory. Stitchawl

11-01-2011, 09:26 AM	#19604
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	I have to say, taking the almost two year old out last night was hilarious. Some house had paper lanterns along the front path and he spent ten minutes just doing a slalom course around them. It was also the first Hallowe'en that I've been treated to a shot of sambuca to "keep the parents warm".

11-01-2011, 01:27 PM	#19605
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,110 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	No trick or treaters at all last night. It has become less and less over the years. Now, schools and churches have Fall carnivals and serve dinners before the carnival. That keeps a large number of kids in one place and not in the neighborhoods. Also, many parents are getting together to have their own Halloween Parties, that keep the kiddies inside. I guess, I'll just have to eat the candy myself. I remember doing the same thing as Stitchawl. My father would drop the tailgate of his truck and drive a group of us kids to the beginning of a street and wait for us to come back, then drive us to the next one. We used pillow cases to gather our treats and came home with them totally full. We would pour them out and trade back and forth for our favorites, when we arrived back home.

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