My apartment complex is full of kids. No surprise, really, because I live in Salt Lake City, but anyway. And actually this isn’t the point of my post, so I’ll shut up about that.
The short answer is: Two kids. Way below the norm of 75 to 100 kids each year in the last couple of years.
The long answer:
The apartment complex also has a fair number of singles and older folks. Recognizing that not all of the residents might want people banging on the doors tonight, the complex management distributed these little Hallowe’en signs that those residents who wished to receive trick-or-treaters could post on their doors. If the door didn’t have a sign, the t-o-ts were supposed to avoid that apartment, whether it was obvious the occupants were home or not.
So I didn’t put up my sign. I’m single, I had to work late tonight, I don’t get into Hallowe’en all that much. Didn’t buy any candy either, except a small bag of M&Ms for myself. So when there was a knock on my door at about 9:15, I was annoyed, but I answered it instead of ignoring it.
Two small kids, maybe 3 or 4 years old, both dressed as ninjas. Very cute. Screamed “trick or treat!” in chorus. Their mother stood behind them, grinning foolishly.
I pointed at the door. “No sign, guys,” I said to the kids. I smiled so it wouldn’t scare them. “I’m not doing Hallowe’en this year.”
“They can’t read,” the mother said, in a tone of voice that plainly indicated she thought I was the stupidest collection of protoplasm on the face of the planet.
I stared at her. “Can you read?” I asked. She flinched. “Besides, it’s a PICTURE. They don’t have to be able to read. Tell them to look for the picture.”
So she grabbed the kids and dragged them off down the hallway to the next apartment, which also didn’t have a sign on its door. And she started banging on that door, and as I closed my door, I heard their little chorus, and the lady in that apt. saying, “I’m not doing Hallowe’en this year . . . .”
Damn parents!
[sub]Don’t flame me for damning the parents. I’m not a parent and if I ever become one, I probably will do dim things like this, but for now I will excoriate them when they deserve it.[/sub]