It was late October on a particularly dark, chilly and foggy night in Pittsburgh. The front door of our house was wide open. I stood there, at the age of four, in my pink footy pajamas as I peered out at what seemed to be an unusually large number of unidentifinable folks wandering the streets and sidewalks. Mom walks up to me wearing a pointed black hat with a wide black rim and began pinning a large wad of cotton to my butt. She then slid a plastic bunny mask over my face. Through the two eye holes of my mask I saw my brother dressed in fatigues, army boots and helmet and a machine gun strapped around his back. Andrea, my older sister was wearing her ballet tutu and a pink jacket.
All of a sudden a headless monster and a ghost walked up the hill and sidewalk to our door yelling “TRICK or treat”. I didn’t like the looks or the sounds of that but Tom and Andrea handed them both some candy and they ran off and out of sight. Mom relieved them of the stash of candy and said it was time for them to head out and have some fun trick or treating. “Don’t forget,” she said, “to keep Mary between you both as you go. Don’t lose her.” WHAT!! I’m not going out there. Strange things are about this night and I will have none of it. I ran and wrapped my arms around my Mom’s leg.
She wore both me and her black pointed hat with the wide black rim all that Halloween night!
