The good, the bad

I generally don't have much use for Halloween. Yeah, we carve the pumpkins and give out the candy, but I don't anticipate the day all that much.

As holidays go, I can take it or leave it. But as days in Newburyport go, it's one of my favorites.

It's the only day of the year when most of the neighborhood roams the streets or sits on their front steps with welcoming smiles. Last night proved to be one of those great nights again, giving us an opportunity to reconnect with neighbors we really haven't seen much of since....sigh...last Halloween.

Unfortunately, the night was spoiled a bit by some teenage kids who decided to empty every unattended basket of candy. I'm sure it was done in the mischievous spirit of the day, but I somehow can't endorse the premise of taking candy that's intended for little children. Seems a bit....shitty.

The loss of candy isn't a big deal. Unfortunately, the Boy caught a wind of what happened and I believe he cut his trick-or-treating short because he didn't want to leave the remaining candy unattended. (I'd caught the buggers before they completely cleaned us out.)

I know we're lucky if this is what counts as youth problems. Still, it bugs me a bit. So if you're teenager came home with an inordinate amount of candy last night, consider this.

Great night with the neighbors though.