The last time I went out trick or treating, Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger was on the radio and Wrath of Khan had appeared in theatres, giving Trekkies everywhere hope for the franchise. I do not have kids of my own, as can be evidenced by the fact I get to sleep in on weekends. This Halloween though, my best friend’s daughter decided that for the first time in her twelve year existence, she really wanted to go trick-or-treating.

Follow up:

With a mere 3 hours to go before sundown, said 12 year old finally managed to contact her best friend and finalize plans that had been started days before but never confirmed, leading to reports of tears and great pre-teen angst as the deadline loomed large, finally forcing even the munchkins’ minds to focus and complete the mission. The mission, let me be clear, was candy.

I volunteered to go on this candy gathering escapade, mainly because I knew that if my dear friend was subjected to a non-stop tirade of Pokemon references and Anime review, “Operation Sugar Rush” was going to last all of 10 minutes before the sole adult in this equation lost her mind. I’m rather fond of her, and I didn’t want to have to visit her in the psych ward… so I came along. I’d love to claim that candy had no affect on me and after 6 months of avoiding processed sugar I am beyond such trivial temptations, but who am I kidding? Candy was an incentive too.

With two costumed 12 year olds psyched and burbling with anticipation we headed out for “no more than a few blocks guys.” It was possibly the most perfect Halloween night I’ve ever seen. The sky was clear, the stars bright, and an almost full moon hung low in the sky as a chilly wind rustled through the leaves and drew goosebumps up the back of your neck. Now as far as I know, my friend’s daughter has never done more than a house or two on Halloween, and never with a friend. Watching her get the pep talk on looking cute, saying thank you and using every element of their costume to full effect for maximum candy acquisition from her companion was one of the funniest things I’ve heard in a long time. Chinese parasol may have been awkward, but “You’ll get more candy if you carry it” was the deciding factor of all the evening’s decisions.

Off we went, hordes of little ghouls and fairies wandering the streets in search of their next sugar score. Nearly two hours later two very chilled adults and a pair of hyper but tired kids staggered up the steps and went through the ritual checking of the candy, which was really more of an excuse to snag a few of our favourites from the unholy mountain of sugar and chocolate that was the night’s work.

There’s little chance that next year there will be another Trick-or-Treat run. Somewhere between twelve and thirteen interests shift, children change into teenagers, and going out for candy just isn’t cool anymore. I’m glad I got to experience one more Halloween this way though, it brought back a great many memories, even if I had to do an extra 20 laps in the pool Sunday as penance for my “share” of the loot.