I got a rock...

Hmmm, I must admit that Halloween was a bit of a bust this year, in terms of trick or treaters. Last year we had about sixty; I'd say we had no more than forty this time. Now, one problem is that the houses in our neighborhood are spaced pretty far apart, and about a quarter of them don't participate, (lights are all out, etc.). This makes a "target poor environment" for most kids, I suppose. In addition, only a few of the houses actually decorate for the holiday. So once again, it probably looks kind of barren around here, and the pros probably head for a denser concentration of plunder.
As for the kids who did show up, almost all were escorted by parents, reflecting our overly-protective times. Sometimes the mothers would walk with the kid to the doors, a few times I could swear they were sniffing for any signs of true danger. Wuss nation.
And several of the groups were way too old to still be hobbling about begging for Hershey bars, (I always want to ask the older teenagers "Shouldn't you be learning to drive a car or date, instead?"). The trick or treating also seemed to start later than normal, things really didn't start up until after 7:30, about 90 minutes later than normal. And some groups seemed to ignore coming to the Manor! Linda and I started to feel like Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin - how could the children ignore the MOST sincerely decorated Halloween house in the neighborhood?!? It's a sad day when decorations actually scare off trick or treaters. At any rate, I guess it went okay, but not as fun as it had been in previous years.