Charlie, don't bite my finger!
It's The Great Pumpkin Time - Almost.
Halloween at The Redmond House was always something spooky but even more so, something to look forward too.
In all honesty, I can't really remember the over abundance of decorations that we would put up. I know Grandma had these two huge plastic Owls that looked like they came from the Dollar Store - and we were over charged for them. I hated them! One hung on each side of the carport. We also had those God awful paper Witches and Scarecrows that had the accordion legs that never matched ... I especially didn't care for those the most. To tell the truth, any chance I got I tore the legs off acting like it was an accident. Did they go to their grave? No! Grandma just pulled out the big roll of tape and back on the wall they went.
I do remember though that we did always carve a pumpkin. I am quite sure we did not hand pick it from mounds of dirt, trudging through the nearest patch till I found the one that delighted me the most. It had to have came from the store.
It was always a big one and always designed the same way. Moon sliced eyes with two teeth on the bottom and one on top of its way to happy grin. It was never carved until the day before All Hallows Eve and on the night the Ghosts & Goblins haunted the dark streets in the neighborhood, that little orange ball was lit - shining bright like a diamond, sitting on the corner of our roof to beckon the "demons" to our front door. We always had the best candy.
Speaking of candy - as I grew older and no longer "rode the streets" with the rest of the witches in town, My Grandmother would always make me answer the sound of the bell - disrupting whatever it was I was trying to get done - no doubt scare all the little Trick-Or-Treaters who so happily danced pasted my black window where I had a tape recorder set up - playing Monster Mash as loud as it would go. Ya, I was cool like that even back then.
Back to Grandma though, she always delighted in counting how many kids came to the door. Each year it was like a game to see if the kids could beat the count from the year before. I have very vivid memories of one year there had been 525 children asking for candy before we ran out. For my Grandma, that would not do in any way, shape or form. Next thing I knew as I tried so hard to shut off the light before anymore hands knocked on the wood panel that I lived behind, she was dumping out her purse and taping nickels onto pieces of Juicy Fruit Gum. Talk about embarrassing but it also left me hopeful, hopeful the following year that little trolls would remember "we sucked" and they wouldn't be back because even though it was still roughly 364 days away till the following Halloween - I was sure I had other things planned: washing my hair, watching tv or just eating those sample size candy bars. I was booked and positive of it so it really was a blessing that she found enough gum, nickels and pennies to make sure every last farm animal down to super hero received one.
These days - the costumes aren't cool unless they cost $100.00+ and you aren't either if you don't hand out the King Size Candy Bars that we could only get - back in the day if we mowed a yard or five and found them on sale.
In all honesty, I can't really remember the over abundance of decorations that we would put up. I know Grandma had these two huge plastic Owls that looked like they came from the Dollar Store - and we were over charged for them. I hated them! One hung on each side of the carport. We also had those God awful paper Witches and Scarecrows that had the accordion legs that never matched ... I especially didn't care for those the most. To tell the truth, any chance I got I tore the legs off acting like it was an accident. Did they go to their grave? No! Grandma just pulled out the big roll of tape and back on the wall they went.
I do remember though that we did always carve a pumpkin. I am quite sure we did not hand pick it from mounds of dirt, trudging through the nearest patch till I found the one that delighted me the most. It had to have came from the store.
It was always a big one and always designed the same way. Moon sliced eyes with two teeth on the bottom and one on top of its way to happy grin. It was never carved until the day before All Hallows Eve and on the night the Ghosts & Goblins haunted the dark streets in the neighborhood, that little orange ball was lit - shining bright like a diamond, sitting on the corner of our roof to beckon the "demons" to our front door. We always had the best candy.
Speaking of candy - as I grew older and no longer "rode the streets" with the rest of the witches in town, My Grandmother would always make me answer the sound of the bell - disrupting whatever it was I was trying to get done - no doubt scare all the little Trick-Or-Treaters who so happily danced pasted my black window where I had a tape recorder set up - playing Monster Mash as loud as it would go. Ya, I was cool like that even back then.
Back to Grandma though, she always delighted in counting how many kids came to the door. Each year it was like a game to see if the kids could beat the count from the year before. I have very vivid memories of one year there had been 525 children asking for candy before we ran out. For my Grandma, that would not do in any way, shape or form. Next thing I knew as I tried so hard to shut off the light before anymore hands knocked on the wood panel that I lived behind, she was dumping out her purse and taping nickels onto pieces of Juicy Fruit Gum. Talk about embarrassing but it also left me hopeful, hopeful the following year that little trolls would remember "we sucked" and they wouldn't be back because even though it was still roughly 364 days away till the following Halloween - I was sure I had other things planned: washing my hair, watching tv or just eating those sample size candy bars. I was booked and positive of it so it really was a blessing that she found enough gum, nickels and pennies to make sure every last farm animal down to super hero received one.
These days - the costumes aren't cool unless they cost $100.00+ and you aren't either if you don't hand out the King Size Candy Bars that we could only get - back in the day if we mowed a yard or five and found them on sale.
Times sure have changed yet one thing that was true back then, is true today and will be true tomorrow ... My costume was ALWAYS a witch and to this day people still refer to me as just that.
Kazz 💋
Kazz 💋
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