Happy Halloween!!!

Somehow I feel all the memories of childhood Halloween mayheim flooding back this evening ... and think I just committed a serious Halloween sin.

While this may seem irrelevant at first, stick with me. I bought new speakers today, to (sadly) replace my little set that I love that somehow broke in all the moves. While I wanted a set with bass like my old ones, I had no idea that I was going to get BASS. Running home to try them out, and gloating over the steal of deal they were, I ripped off the plastic, plugged them in ... and just about got bounced of of the sofa from the BABOOM, BABOOM. In the always quiet, always courteous world of the Swiss, such rambuncious sounds do not go over well.

Turning them down as much as is technically possible, I went along my way in the kitchen, thoroughly paranoiod that the neighbors were going to start banging on the walls. That's about when the doorbell rang. *&^@&#. I try to gain some composure as I scurry over to the door and peek though the peep hole. *&#^^$#. Most definitely a short elderly neighbor with white hair. Can't pretend I'm not home - the music gives that away. Can't pretend I can't hear over the music - then I'd have to admit that it was too loud. Only one option left. Putting my sweetest-smile-ever face on, I slowly open the door ... only to find a whole slew of trick-or-treaters ...short, of course, and with grey wigs and ghost get ups.

Mad neighbor problem solved. New problem on hand. I have no candy. You can't exactly blame me ... I haven't seen trick-or-treaters at all since living in Bellingham, and even then, they were few and far between. So I'm stuck. I have six little faces staring hopefully at me (though it should be noted that there was no rambunctious shouts of trick-or-treat or any similar translation ... simply bags held high with little puppy dog eyes saying please) and I have no candy. I know this, but go to the kitchen anyhow as if I might find some scrap of something artifically sweetened . Nothing. Finally, I grab all the kiwis sitting in the fruit bowl and drop them in the kids' bags. Ooohhh you should have seen the disappointment.

Not that I blame them ... I too remember the "weirdos" who gave anything but candy. And as they left, all I could think of was the Charlie Brown (?) movie where the woman becomes the "Grinch" of Halloween.