HALLOWEEN POST-MORTEM

Halloween was just a mere 60 hours ago, but it's as faded a memory as the winner of last season's 'Dancing With the Stars'. As promised though, here's a brief post-mortem on the social graces on display Fright Night, and a couple of great ideas sure to be exhumed next year. If the infestation of Locusts arrived on buses in our neighborhood as it reportedly did in Old Stockdale, I never saw them. But the streets on our side of town were crawling with monsters young and old. So were our newly-seeded front lawns. Tuesday morning's gutters were littered with candy wrappers! But much to my delight, the majority of trick-or-treaters were in costume, and uttered those magic words: thank you. Halleluliajh! Maybe my work here is done. Then again, maybe not. I found it difficult to follow my own advice on the 'no costume, no candy' rule. Easier said than done. A mob of strangers at your doorstep can be intimidating, and I was certainly outnumbered. Thanks to Jennifer Etcheverry of My Husband's Nuts, and Old Stockdale survivor Lisa Andrew for their suggestions on getting around the grown adults with pillow cases, and newborns in strollers. Next year, we'll have three separate bowls: candy in one, fruit in the other, and baby food biscuits in the third. Afterall, striving to be more 'consumer friendly and demographic specific' on Halloween might just 'Manner A lot'.