Halloween Night

There were a lot of trick-or-treaters tonight, many more than last year, probably because the weather was nice tonight.

Andrew’s parents received a nonstop flow of trick-or-treaters for over an hour-and-a-half.

The kids were extremely cute. Some of the trick-or-treaters were as young as three years old, and some of them were as old as eight or nine.

We had everything prepared by the time it was dark. In addition to lighting the jack-o-lanterns, we had lined the front walkway on both sides with Halloween lights, so that the kids could easily make their way up the walk to the front door.

We stayed in the front hallway all night so that we could always answer the door immediately. Andrew’s mother would open the door and pretend to be surprised, while Andrew would kneel and hold the dog so that the dog would not rush any of the kids and frighten them. Andrew’s Dad and I would then pass out the treats, while the kids would remove their masks to show Andrew’s mother who they were, at which point she would pretend to be surprised all over again. Then the kids would pet the dog for a couple of minutes while their parents would come in for a brief “Hello”, at which point they would all go on their way and we would wait for the next group. It was fun.

I recognized all the kids. I recognized each one of them, either from church, or from the park, or both.

The dog was no trouble at all, and he didn’t bark once. He’s been through this routine before, and by now—this was his seventh Halloween at Andrew’s parents’ house—he knows what trick-or-treating is all about. The kids already all knew him, and he already knew all the kids, and he behaved himself perfectly, and none of the kids was frightened of him in the least.

The kids’ costumes were cute. There were lots of ghost costumes, and lots of skeleton costumes, and a few witch costumes, and a few animal costumes, and a couple of pirate costumes, and a couple of fairy-tale-princess costumes—and a sizable number of Hillary Clinton costumes, all of which were worn by the older kids. Seeing so many kids sport Hillary Clinton masks was hysterical. There were at least six different types of Hillary Clinton masks on display tonight!

It was too bad that it was all over by 8:30 p.m.

When the trick-or-treating was over, Andrew and I ate a late dinner at his parents’ house. We had grilled steak, French-fried potatoes, steamed broccoli and a tomato-cucumber salad. For dessert, we were awarded Halloween cookies—and we didn’t even have to wear costumes to get them! It was fun.

On Friday night, Andrew and I will go back to his parents’ house. That will be the final night before Andrew’s father leaves for Zurich, and Andrew’s mother will have a special dinner that night. She is hoping to make a baked carp, assuming she can locate a fresh carp she likes.

Andrew’s mother’s baked carp is to die for!