Halloween

We had a pumpkin carving gig last night with me, Alec and our friend Karli. We heated up pumpkin seeds, carved pumpkins, ate pizza and laughed a lot. We had a great time. I haven't carved a pumpkin in years so I really enjoyed getting to do it - the texture and smell of pumpkins reminded me of when I was a kid.

I'm still trying to figure out how come Halloween came about. Think about it for a minute....we dress up our kids as little monsters, ghosts, goblins and have them go door to door where people, strangers even, pass out candy. As a kid, you have to pump your fist and scream, "YES!" Growing up in the '60's going door to door was actually a fun thing to do. Neighbors dressed up, many homes had their own crude versions of "Spook Alley," and we walked for what seemed like miles. The world seemed safer back then although I'm sure there were just as many lunatics in our suburbs as there are right now. They just kept to themselves more.

In 2008 the thought of trick or treating is sort of creepy. No one knows their neighbors anymore - especially in this 24 hour city. Many of our citizens are just downright strange having been kicked out of every decent city/town/state in the country. They flock to Las Vegas seeking jobs, streets paved with gold, and strippers for neighbors. Alas, the sharp pang of reality jolts them when they realize that even 115 degree "dry heat" is insufferable, jobs are scarce, the strippers (so I hear) are all students putting themselves through medical school and our streets are just as cruddy as those found anywhere else. Vegas has marketed itself better than any city in the world.

And so our youth are faced with this dilemma: Having been told "Don't take candy from a stranger," EXCEPT for Halloween. It's sort of like reading the bible and contemplating the following:

When Moses comes down from Mount Sinai with the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments, he discovers that the Israelites have created a golden calf. To punish the people, Moses gathers a group of men and takes the following action in the book of Exodus, Chapter 32:

"This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.' " The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand people died.

So... one minute we have God carving into stone, "Thou shalt not kill." Then the next minute we have God telling each man to strap a sword to his side and lay waste to thousands.

How does this reference relate to getting candy at Halloween? It means that the rules are always changing. Why is this stuff so complicated?