For the Love of Candy

Today I thought I would talk about something often overlooked on Halloween, when adults who love it suddenly remember it's a holiday for children, or adults who hate it realize it's time to turn the porch light off so they don't have to make a trip to the store. I find that often when a person doesn't like kids, they don't much like the horrifically wonderful day of Halloween all that much either.

Candy, An absolutely essential element to the celebration of when the dead walk the earth. From what I recall, it was usually a struggle to sort out the treats from the tricks at the end of the night. I'd have my neat little piles of daily-use candy (bubblegum, jolly ranchers, the things one always finds in a child's pocket) and then I'd have the little bits of change given by mis-guided penny ponies, that is...the pennies some adults seem to think small children would prefer over a sugar high. Finally, I'd have two more piles. The delicious (the smallest pile) bits I would devour as soon as possible...and the nasty candy.

The nasty candy. The stuff nobody, kid or adult enjoys, and yet invariably remains a major element in most buckets. Why is it that some people think black licorice is any kind of substitute for Reeses, or circus peanuts any kind of stand-in for butterscotch? This year, when October comes around, I entreat you all to do a bit more thinking when it comes to your treating. Remember that a kid only gets so many years to Trick-or-Treat, so it's very important they have something nice at the end of the night to show for it. Buy the good stuff. If you absolutely have to get bad candy too...set it aside for the teens with their pillowcases at midnight, and hardly any kind of costume to show for it.