Oh what a wonderful day it will be.  I get to run around the neighborhood hiding in bushes, jumping out and scaring kids.  I get to be a kid again because tonight is Halloween.

Halloween has always been one of my favorite days of the year no matter how old I am.  When I was a kid I used to love getting my costume on and heading out to go trick-or-treating.  I knew that I was going to get quite a large quantity of candy.  I also knew that there was going to be a dentist or some tree-hugging type that was going to give me an apple or some crap that I didn’t really want.  And occassionally there was the house with the old folks in it that would toss you a ziploc bag full of pennies (man I thought I was rich).

As I grew up and got “too old” for going out for candy me and my friends would find some type of mischief to get into.  Usually mischief included a hole bunch of toilet paper and either a friend or a teacher’s house.  Shaving cream was used on occassion as well (the gel is the hardest to clean off by the way.)  Once or twice it was my house that got hit but hey that was all the fun.

Once I got out of high school and joined the corps Halloween kinda lost its magic for a few years.  The first year I was in MCT.  The next year I was in Okinawa so we all hit the bar (wait that was every night).  Soon after though I was back in Cali for halloween and I realized really quickly that as you grow up and hit the bar scene Halloween is just an excuse for the chicks to dress as slutty as they can (I love that SoCal is still warm in Oct.)

Also while I was out on my own seeing the kids come and go from the house is great.  I love seeing the kids faces as you reach into a big bowl of candy and drop a huge handful into their bag or pumpkin or pillowcase or whatever they are collecting in.  I think it is great when a kid get imaginative and creates his or her own costume.  I even don’t mind the occassional “kid” that is just a little too old to really be out trick or treating as long as they have put some effort into it.  If you are over 13 and don’t out real effort into your costume you aren’t getting that huge handful from me.

Unfortunately this year I will not be able to partake in the festivities of Halloween with my children due to the fact that I am still up in NorCal visiting family after my grandfather passed away.  I am not going to get to see my two boy all dressed up though I know their mother’s will take pictures.  I am not going to get to see my little 3 year old niece all dressed up and out having a great time getting me to run all over the neighborhood to get her candy.  I also am going to miss the baby’s first Halloween though she is only 7 months old so she isn’t going to remember anyway and I know my wife will take many pictures of her all dressed up.

Hopefully in the small town that I am in I will have the opportunity to jump out of a bush or two and scare the crap out the kids (cuz that is just fun).  Hopefully I get to see a few kids out and about dressed up and going from house to house.  Either way tomorrow will be a great day because kids are going to be out and about and be happy.

Hope you all have a great and safe Halloween.

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