,
,
etc.
When Larry was a boy, we lived in Winterhaven, a nice middle-class subdivision in Tucson. There were 90 homes--with only four entrances--from the north, south, east, and west. Lots of quiet streets and cul-de-sacs. Perfect for parents to bring kids for "Trick-or Treat" on Halloween, and we had them by the hundreds. Some were even brought in by the truckload. It was lots of fun for Larry all those years.
But he grew up and moved out during college.
FAy and I continued to maintain a supply of goodies,
and we always had a Jack O'Lantern in our front
window. Also, we kept a tally:
,
,
etc.
This particular Halloween we had 115 little ghosts and goblins. By 9:00p.m. we were running low on treats. All we had left were some foil-wrapped Hershey kisses. Fay said, "Let's call it a night!" We turned off the lights and snuffed out the candle in the Jack O'Lantern.
Soon the doorbell rang, and there before us stood a tall, sheeted ghost with a big, real pumpkin for a head. Beside him was a mop-haired, freckle-faced, snaggle-toothed with with a broomstick!
Fay said, "Don't you think that you're a bit too old for this sort of thing?" and slammed the door.
They rang again. It was our own son, Larry Anderson, and his best girl, Sheila Boxley!
-
Now when I was a little boy on the Indian reservation, we didn't know much about Halloween. I guess we thought the Indians had enough superstitions of their own without adding some of ours.
I had never been to a barber for a haircut. My mother seemed to think I looked good with a page-boy cut, just like some little member of King Arthur's Court. (Later I came to realize that my hairstile resembled that of Clara Bow, Colleen Moore, and Claudette Colbert in the movies!) Some kids from town came out to see us, and they said my haircut was sissy stuff!
So, she finally took me to a barber in Tucson. Boy was I scaed by that big chair and all those sharp knives and scissors! The barber looked fierce, ?too with handlebar mustaches.
I was desperate! I thought, "Well, maybe I can scare this guy, and he;ll call the whole thing off!" So I looked him right in the eye and muttered, menacingly, "Snakes, and skunks, and wolves and coyotes, and spiders, and trantulas, and vultures, and gila monsteres, and scorpions and centipedes, and bats, and bears, and lions, and tigers!"
He looked right back at me and coolly replied, "Witches, and monsters, and ghosts, and goblins, and headless horsemen, and ghouls, and spirits, and skeletons!"
--Then we both laughed, and I climbed up into that big chair and had my first profesional hairbut!