Halloween Night

After a short walkabout, my son and I hung with some Hobart homebodies, astonished anew by the zero conduct: costume-less teenagers (and young adults) ferried by (not-so) mini-vans and sport utilities, collecting candy as if part of some black market resale venture.

The city is plastered with obesity warnings, and yet we collect and distribute enough saccharine offal to bloat a nation of ballerinas.

"Nada de disfraz, nada de dulce", sometimes we chide the plainclothes opportunists, too lazy even to don a goofy sportcoat, or pair a jersey with cleats, bat, or hat.


The treemonster on Hollywood Boulevard has the right spirit, and he ain't in it for a polysorbate 60 sucker.



Of course, West Adamsers did Halloween in their own inimitable style: cardboard tombstones that advertised smoking related deaths, candy givers in vintage lace, eerie sound loops from '30's radio shows.

Trick or treating which appeared to fall off after 9/11 is all the rage again. Were parents concerned about terrorist tampering? Or did we just collectively become less intrepid? Into Iraq and into milkduds?

Partially inspired by neighbors who handout skeleton key chains, I'm going candyless next year, maybe gifting raisins or peanuts. I'll probably get egged.

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Sunday's Open: 2361 W. 20th St. 2 - 5 pm. One half block East of Arlington. One block South of Washington.