The Great Pumpkin Strikes Again

It's that time of year, when the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch. If you wait all night, you can be disappointed that it is only the shadow of Snoopy before you faint dead away. Of course, this has been going on for 40 years. Why would it change now? Halloween is a grand tradition.

Halloween is just a really cool holiday, unless of course you are a teacher. Then, it's a really cool holiday that drives you crazy. I can hardly wait until Friday, when all the kids scramble to put on costumes and parade about the school. If you're lucky, your kid might be at a school that still does this tradition. If not, you're stuck with the Harvest Festival theme of pumpkins and scarecrows that blends right into Thanksgiving.

So, why have this holiday? Why is Halloween so important? Why hope for the Great Pumpkin after all? This holiday tradition of dressing up and being creative while begging for candy is truly an American tradition. Other countries copy us in this creative endeavor. And as far as being unique and creative, we might have the market on that. It might be the only thing to save our country.

Yeah, it's insane that parents are encouraging their kids to beg for candy from strangers. But there is trust in that. Maybe we need to get to know each other again. Rate each house on the type of candy bar or gum given out again. Isn't a neighborhood the most united when all the kids are out running door to door in the night under the full moon, laughing, cheering, and sugared out?

What joys are left except the ones from childhood? The memories from Halloween are the ones we carry inside when we're older. So, as I dress up in my costume as a Wood Sprite Fairy and parade about with my class, I'll endure the hyper craziness because I know it will be over in a mere hour. My duty done. The students will run off into the day and night to enjoy that incredible journey of growing up. Happy Halloween everyone! Make it a safe one!