Halloween  on the farm. 

  

      mom and i was just talking about Halloween and i was telling her i have free pumpkins , and i have about 20 total i am giving away free this year . so i was telling her about the pumpkins and mentioned they were free this year but next year i plan on selling them , so enjoy and remember where you got one this year. we talked at length , venturing from free pumpkins, i remarked how i couldn't understand when it comes to Christmas trees or pumpkins how retailers hold on to them , and keep the price high right through the holiday they were intended for, or give them a way Christmas day or on Halloween  at that point they were stuck with them and you are doing them the favor of getting rid of them for the retailer. it just seems odd that you wouldn't just give them away if the trees were cut or it was a pumpkin say at least 2 days before the event was to happen so someone could some enjoyment out of it. 

      i reminisced about the fact that as kids our family was denied the full fun of trick or treating . and really only actually participated in it once in all my years on the farm and that was due to my sister charly or belinda being born. mom was in the hospital and i believe my brother jim was supposed to watch for us and i wasnt no spring chicken as i was about 140 lbs . of fat kid stuffed in to small jeans .wearing a pair of  high waters as i was always growing to fast. . but even then i was in fairly good shape as i had to keep up with older brothers. jim explained that dad was at the hospital with mom and charly , and that jim and i were going to go trick or treating. even if i didn't want to go i was going anyhow or at least i had to go along to participate in an event. i was the youngest of the boys and they figured if i went along they had something to threaten me with. 

      it was the if you tell , then i will tell mom you were along and she will beat you senseless before she ever gets to me . you will be a bloody pulp laying on the floor. then i will get you later. 

     but the thought of soaping windows and throwing corn on the porch and getting candy bars for doing all that was unbelievable to us. we only had about 2 hours to accomplish a normal Halloween as we were never allowed to do Halloween ever before or after.it was  a half mile in either direction from  of the end of our lane down or up easy street to the first house we could visit for trick or treat. a cheap plastic mask and trying to slink down so i didn't look so large at the first house we went to, the people were generous and glad to see us, candy bars poured into the bag as  we were so grateful we went ahead and soaped their windows anyhow  we knew this could be our only chance to trick someone so we hurriedly soaped their windows and went to the next neighbor. in fact the whole neighborhood had soaped windows. treated or not we spent a lifetime of Halloweens in one night. 

     mostly i remember running . running from one house to the next and then going on to other peoples  porches and being treated nice then as we would go around the corner, we would turn back and run to the house we just came from and soap those windows. then run to the farm. and as we were headed up the lane we saw dad pass in the truck and hid until his truck passed then we really ran and hauled butt home. coming in over the hill by the barn and ending up at the house minutes after dad showed up there. when asked we said we were doing the chores in the barn when he came in. and we found out that charly had beat me out for the largest baby born as she was 10 lbs. 8 oz. and i was 10 lbs 2 oz. . guess i have gained a few since then . she was born on halloween that year and that was the year i finally got to go trick or treat. after that night i don't think i ever did go again as i was to big. 

      in fairness to mom and dad there was quite a few of us at the farm over the years . letting us rampant through the neighborhood was out of the question. out of sight out of mind was the term our ears was bombarded with,  as if they couldn't trust us to be alone. well they were right. but deceit was a learned trait as it was mom and dad who inspired us with tales of their naughty days when dad hung a scarecrow in an old covered bridge from the rafters with a hangman's knot.  at first when approaching the bridge the cars headlights wouldn't see much . but for most covered bridges they would put a steep approach up to an elevated bridge and as the car climbed the dirt ramp the headlights would shine right up into rafters, where they would see a body hanging . the people would slam on the breaks and yell and scream thinking it was real.

       there was also talk of placing manure  in a paper bag and dousing it with gasoline and throwing on someones porch.then yell fire and  they would come out and stomp it out. these were all of dads halloween pranks he told us about. 

       moms naughty lessons for us to learn to be deceitful had to do with deceit in its purest form. she calls us all together and says to us " come on kids we have to get this house cleaned up as better homes and gardens magazine is coming to take pictures. we have to hurry and get all these toys picked up and the floor swept up,  and the house cleaned up. '

      we rushed around and bought her story as she laughed at us knowing full well they were not coming. it only happened once as she had to take us out to a movie at the drive in after that. so is it any wonder we are like we are?  we only have to thank our parents for the inspiration they showed us. 

      when i was a kid you could buy a reeses cup for nickel, now you have to take out a loan to buy candy. that same reese cup would cost you 89 cents at some stores. but those old reese cups could sprout you a pimple farm with just one. some things change. but moms don't  reflecting on the sheltered life we had as farm kids as compared to those other kids down there on easy street. she would lament " oh you poor thing" looks like it hurt you , and you never have got over it. ", and then knifing me a little more she says ' grow up your 56 " 

     her sympathy was less than genuine but deep down and if nothing else i know she has never changed that part of her,  even though the rest of life moves on. .