Trick or Treat

This week of Halloween causes me to take a look back at my childhood. We were a poor family that worked hard for everything. I didn't know we were poor, I just thought that everyone worked before school, went to school and worked after school until dark. If memory serves me right, we never had after school work to do on Halloween. My two younger sisters and I would walk home from school with that excitement of costumes and going door to door of the people our parents knew and getting lots of goodies that we rarely enjoyed during the year.

Our costumes were always simple and home made. I think I have been a witch most years. Terri, 18 months younger than me usually went as a princess and Robin, 4 years younger, went as a ghost or what ever was available.

Some houses would be a simple knock on the door. "Trick or Treat!!" we would shout in unison followed by the adults behind the door oohing and ahing over our costumes and joking with my parents. Then we would get homemade popcorn balls or candy apples or bags of peanuts and the occasional candy bar or sucker. But some houses had a required trick from us before the treat would be given. I quickly learned that the purpose of the trick is for adult entertainment so since I was a very shy child then I figured that the sooner my act was done and the louder the adults laughed the sooner we got our treats and we could go on to the next house.

So this particular year, I had to be around 6 and my sister just turned 5, accompanied my dad to the next door neighbors house. Mr and Mrs Turentine were very excited to see us. I could see the large bowl next to the door with individually wrapped caramel candies(my favorites) and my mouth started salivating. This was the first house so I had not even remembered yet about tricks so imagine my surprise when Mr. Turentine said that I had to do a trick before getting any treats. I could not think of a thing so Mrs. Turentine said I had to act like a spider and my sister, Terri had to be a lamb. So she gets down on all fours and starts bleating. The adults start giggling and I was frantically trying to think how to look like a spider. I finally figured it out! I lay down on my back and formed myself into a back bend. Dad laughed very loudly saying look she is a spider. I was very pleased with the laughter so I suddenly let my hands and feet fly out landing flat on my back, black sheet cap all around me, hat has flown off, my long hair is everywhere. All the adults become quiet instantly thinking I had fallen and was possibly injured. As parents, they were waiting for my childish cry but what they got was "This is the spider momma killed!" After the roar of laughter stopped, I got two hands full of caramels.