Halloween

Tonight I sat on our front porch for about an hour passing out candy. My favorite costume of the night was the trio of very similar looking 3-year-old boys dressed as bears. To the parents I asked, “Triplets?” The mom said, “Yes.” And then pointing to a sleeping little sister on Dad’s shoulder she added, “That is Goldilocks.”

I was surprised at how many adults dressed up too. And they didn’t even want candy. One old guy wore a pretty elaborate Scooby Doo costume that he was proud of. But when he spoke, it showed that it probably wasn’t his idea. He said, “Happy Halloween. Yabba Dabba Doo.”

Wait. Scooby doesn’t say that. He said it again so I feigned recognition and smiled. I guess the “Doo” was the common thread. Scooby would say, “Herrow Raggy” because dogs aren’t good at the "L" or "Sh" sound. But they are OK with Rs.

My baby dressed as a honey bee. I'm afraid that we may not have many more years with costumed trick-or-treaters, but she sure was cute.

As I handed out candy my mind drifted back to Halloween in Santa Barbara ten years ago. My persnickety two-year-old (Erika) didn't want to go only because we obviously wanted her to. She grudgingly wore a costume and followed her siblings to the first door, where she received a full-size chocolate bar. That changed her attitude immediately. In fact, she began to open and consume it before getting to the next door. She was good. Done. One house and she was happy. I guess that's "not too rabby"