Trick or Treat

Growing up as a kid the Halloween holiday was something I looked forward to every year. Things were a lot different back then. Today's Halloween holiday is spoiled by worrywart parents who fret about real life goblins, kidnappers and child molesters hiding behind every bush and door or candy filled with poison and pins ending up in their kid's candy bag. Even if their kids get past all those hazards their parents preach to them about childhood obesity. Today's reality is that a child has more of a chance getting injured by the airbags in their parent's car than being harmed by a goblin, kidnapper or child molester. Maybe the childhood obesity lectures should be saved and used when the kid turns 12 and you need to pry him or her away from setting in front of the computer for twelve straight hours or when they want their own car at 15 because walking or riding a bike is so uncool.
Halloween was the only holiday I ever plotted strategy for well in advance. Oh I guess I used a little strategy leading up to Christmas when I made a toy list but even then my strategy consisted mostly of hope and prayer. My Halloween usually went off with the precision of a military invasion. What would I wear for a costume, what street would I start on, what house would be my first stop and how many stops could I make before I was required to be back home was all part of a Halloween strategy I used every year. I really don't remember how good I was at all this but I'll bet I was able to make more stops than a UPS delivery man could on his best day.
Every year Halloween comes under attack from the religious spectrum. They want to eliminate the holiday from our society and even our schools because they think kids should not be exposed to pagan traditions. Well I am a Christian and I've never once been hit in the head by a flying witch or tied to a stake and set afire. So all you parents need to lighten up. Stop worrying about Halloween and start worrying when you teenage daughter runs off with a 40 year old man she met on the Internet or when your teenage son totals out the family automobile.