Halloween costumes are real treats

Hi neighbors. We can all rest better tonight knowing all the ghouls and ghosties are back to their normal lives and won't come knocking on our doors.

Halloween is a great holiday in my opinion. We all get to be actors for a while and put on roles and wardrobes of anyone we want to be for a few hours.

Super-heroes are always big favorites. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Cat Woman are regular choices for costumes.

Generic heroes have returned to favorites the last few years. Costumes of cowboys, sheriffs, fire fighters, and soldiers are more popular than ever.

Movies and other works of fiction have always offered new ideas for colorful costumes. The franchises of Star Wars and Star Trek gave us characters from other planets to dress up as on Halloween.

Green-skinned aliens, green-blooded Vulcans and laser-hot light sabers, Let's not forget Disney's legacy! How many little girls would ever imagine themselves as princesses without his animated influence? Pirate gear gained new interest due to the Disney touch, as did clothes for mountain men, cowboys and animal costumes.

How about those pixies and trolls? All those old-time characters from fairy tales and nursery rhymes are still popular among the wee folks.

Nurse and doctor scrubs were popular this year, too.

Of course, the real draw for Halloween are those "other worldly" folk who don't arrive by spaceship, worm hole or wrap drive.

I'm talking about all those ghouls, ghosts, witches and devils that defy the dark each Halloween to go door to door collecting candy and goodies with threats of "tricks" if they don't like the offerings.

Halloween is supposed to be a time when the veil between the living and the dead is thin; allowing ghosts and other strange things to appear to the living.

Offering protection from the bad guys is why jack-o-lanterns have such garish grins. Making noise, traveling in groups, keeping areas as well lighted as possible; are all old attempts to keep the dead away.

It's not just the deceased ancestors we have to dodge on Halloween; let's not forget all those gargoyles, demons, witches, ghouls and hobgoblins.

Halloween isn't the only holiday we try to appease those on "the other side." Let's not forget Christmas, where we try to finagle toys and gifts from one very chubby elf. Another non-human guilty of home-invasion, Santa leaves his elfly gang for one night to fly around the world doing his own trick or treating in reverse.

Although these two, once adult problem solving holidays, have fallen to the realm of childhood fun; there is still one holiday saved for the adults to face their own demons.

St. Patrick's Day is well known for over indulging celebrants' visions of the wee folk.

But back to Halloween. We all stock up on treats; but how many tricks are left for children to enjoy? No one has the old time outhouse anymore. Tipping over an outhouse is as old hat as cow tipping.

Putting a wagon on the barn roof doesn't happen much either. There aren't that many barns left around for one thing or wagons either, come to think of it.

Soaping windows was in fashion when I was a teen (not that I did that of course!) Egg throwing became so popular that it became illegal to have eggs in your car on Halloween night.

A little mischief was expected though. Schools reminded students that using shaving foam on vehicles could damage the paint and recommended using whipped topping from cans instead.

And what about 't-p'ing someone's yard? That always just seemed mean to me. Beside taking hours to do, the people who lived there had hours of clean up the next day. Not fun for either side of that "joke." With all the tricks out there, how about raking up someone's leaves instead? Other than breaking pumpkins all over the sidewalk, how about picking up candy wrappers? Until the next time friends remember Halloween is many things to many people. There's no reason it can't be a celebration the day after as well as the night of trick or treat.