I need to vent. This is driving me NUTS. I think I’ve blogged about this at least once, no, actually twice! I would like to propose that we take back Halloween and put it back on October 31^st!

 

On the front page of WauwatosaNow.com, you will see this notice:

 

 Citywide trick or treat takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26. A day earlier, the Village of Wauwatosa businesses will stage Trick or Treat in the Village for children ages 3 to 12 starting at 1:30 p.m. at WaterStone Bank, 7500 W. State St. 

 This year, Halloween is on a Friday. What would be the harm in having citywide trick-or-treat from 5-8 pm on that day? Most neighborhood associations are doing it on Friday. Kids don’t have to worry about being out on a school night. Parents don’t either, for that matter.

 

I don’t know about everyone in Wauwatosa, but I have virtually NO trick-or-treaters during the Citywide session. I can understand doing the business trick-or-treat ahead of time, but can’t we just have all trick-or-treating on Halloween?!

 

In this day and age of “less is more,” seems like we should be looking at ways of spending fewer dollars on things like candy and costumes. With the potential for THREE Halloween celebrations in Tosa, that is difficult to do.

 

What do you think, readers? Are you confused by the multiple trick-or-treating dates? Do you just wish Halloween was on October 31^st?

  

 

I’m sorry, but it’s just too early. I don’t care what you say...it is.

 

In fact, I would argue that being this early will mean that some things around your house will be stale...really stale.

 

What am I talking about? OK, so on Sunday August 10^th, we were wandering the aisles of Sentry, picking up a few essentials.

 

Suddenly, just northeast of the produce department, we ran into a GIGANTIC display. I could NOT believe it. I was so stunned that I took a photo with my cell phone. Here it is:

 

 

Please forgive the quality, but what you see there is an enormous display of Halloween candy. That’s right, I said Halloween candy. On August 10^th. Exactly 82 days before Halloween.

 

It's not enough that every neighborhood has multiple dates for Halloween. Now we have to think about those multiple dates nearly three months before they arrive!!!

 

Like I said, it’s just too early.

 

Millie (see above) and I took a walk on this splendid, picture-perfect, day. She had a lot on her mind. Here are some things that she was wondering:

 

Millie wonders why some dogs walk their owners versus the other way around. How can that be fun with all the pulling and choking going on?

 

Millie wonders why the bike path/walking path for Menomonee River Parkway begins at the Harmonee Bridge and ends prior to Swan Boulevard. Did they think that people would be too tired to continue?

 

Millie wonders why some people bike, run or walk on the left side of the path.

 

Millie wonders why parking is allowed on both sides of the parkway when soccer games are being played. It seems so dangerous with so many kids running in between cars and across the road and people getting in their cars with little regard for traffic.

 

Millie wonders why I wouldn’t let her consume the old breadstick that she found on the sidewalk.

 

Millie wonders why drivers in Tosa interpret stop signs as “slow down” signs and roll through intersections.

 

Millie wonders if the street repairs at the corner of Milwaukee Avenue and Wauwatosa Avenue will ever be finished.

 

Millie wonders why the Root Commons Park (area in front of Drews) is called the Root Commons Park.

 

Millie wonders if any Tosa mayoral candidates have a chance against joeythelovesponge.

 

Millie wonders if we realize how lucky we are to have Ray’s here in Tosa with its amazing wine selection and knowledgeable staff.

 

Millie wonders if that store near 92^nd and North is really called Wallpaper Wallpaper.

 

Millie wonders if the Times Cinema will ever invest in slightly more comfortable seating to match the great films and great ownership.

 

Millie wonders if The Firefly will ever expand its menu and if it will ever be open for lunch.

 

Millie wonders if and when the new recycling program will start in Tosa and if many of us will get stuck with extra blue bags when it does.

 

Millie wonders why we all can’t just have trick or treat on Halloween (a.k.a. October 31st) from now on.

 

Millie wonders whether your pet is wondering anything about Wauwatosa.....? 

 

I wrote about this last year (one of the few things I received e-mail about), but it was only days before the event. This time, I’m bringing it up early. I’m talking about trick-or-treating. I think it’s time for us to Take Back Halloween.

Every year, you hear neighbors chatting on sidewalks and street corners: “When is our trick-or-treating?” “When is Wauwatosa’s trick-or-treating?” It takes a savvy citizen to keep track of the dates and times.

When I was a kid, things were simpler. After we walked five miles to and from school in the pouring rain, we trick-or-treated…on Halloween. Not the Sunday before or the Saturday after. On the actual date - at night. Oooh…scary!

Then years later, Halloween got downright nasty, and I’m not talking about haunted houses. There were tainted candy bars and razors in apples. Creepy people messed with trick-or-treating and so we messed with Halloween. We cleaned it up and made it safe…and boring.

Nothing takes the fun out of Halloween faster than telling kids that they get to go door-to-door during the day. There’s nothing remotely scary about that, and that’s the problem.

I’ve heard through the Tosa Town Square that several neighborhood associations are not as organized as others and don’t have specific plans for where and when to trick-or-treat. This is exactly why we should go back to Halloween Night.

Any responsible parent accompanies their young children when they go trick-or-treating. And yes, I’m aware that there are, unfortunately, some irresponsible parents. But this method of offering multiple trick-or-treat opportunities is not going to fix that.

I say, be safe, watch your kids, know your neighbors and let’s go back to trick-or-treating on Halloween.

Happy Halloween everyone! Oh, what’s that you say? It’s only Saturday and Halloween is Tuesday? But, you’re wrong, because the Wauwatosa Village Trick or Treat was today from 1:30 to 3:00 pm and tomorrow, Sunday, the so-called Wauwatosa “city-wide” trick or treat is from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. (Inconveniently during a Packer game, I might add.) Then on Tuesday, my neighborhood, and many other Tosa neighborhoods are having traditional trick-or-treating at night. Are you confused? Yeah, me too. It’s getting so that I feel sort of pressured to have a bowl of candy next to my front door for the entire month of October.

I do understand that the Village Trick or Treat is for kids to visit businesses in the village, so I really didn’t have to worry about costumed visitors today. But I think the days of the daytime city-sponsored trick-or-treat have sort of passed us by. In our neighborhood, and in our last Tosa neighborhood, we have trick-or-treat on Halloween night. Just like in the good old days. This has gone on for years. In fact, I haven’t participated in daytime trick-or-treating since my college sophomore son was a toddler. Back then, it was all about fear and I don’t mean ghost stories. Hospitals opened their radiology labs for kids to get their trick-or-treat candy x-rayed. Gosh, isn’t that a sweet childhood tradition? I don’t know if trick-or-treating has gotten safer or if we’ve just all worked together to make it a little less creepy.

I guess what’s changed is that here in Wauwatosa, neighborhood associations have turned Halloween night into a community-building event. Parents don’t usually just send their kids out alone. They walk along with them and get selective about whose doorbells they’re ringing. Neighbors take the opportunity to set the mood and sometimes set up fire-pits and gatherings with friends. It’s a great time for the kids and the parents. And now that my kids are older, I love answering the door and asking the kids about their costumes.

So I ask you, fellow Tosans. Do you think Wauwatosa should do away with the city-wide trick-or-treating on the Sunday before Halloween? Are you’re like me, and you get one, maybe two trick-or-treaters on that afternoon and you almost wish you could put a sign on your door saying that you’re participating in the neighborhood trick-or-treat instead of the city-wide version? Maybe I’ve got this all wrong. Maybe there are Tosa neighborhoods or Tosa families that still need the city-wide trick-or-treating. If so, share your thoughts. E-mail me at westsidestoriestosa@yahoo.com.