Halloween is a holiday like no other. It’s a good entry into the holiday season: light on the symbolism, heavy on the community involvement. Now that I can afford as much candy as I want I’m no longer under the thrall of candy. But when you’re a kid, few things are as compelling as candy. Where does it come from? Why does it taste so good? Why can’t we eat it for dinner?
When I was a kid Halloween was my favorite holiday. It combined many of my interests: free stuff, candy, and grossing people out or being silly. When I was about 11 or 12, I was into “special effects”. I had several different latex masks and an assortment of fake moustaches and books on the subject I had picked up at various places including the Clown Factory in San Antonio. For some reason, San Antonio had a lot of options when it came to Halloween costumes and magic stuff. There was Elbe’s on Broadway with the wooden nickels, and a few other places I am forgetting.
For Halloween I would often make my rounds and then come home, change into another costume, and go out to the same houses for more candy. It was a once a year situation, so you had to make the most of it.