The crunch of the leaves, the temperatures dropping, the apple cider, the pumpkin spice and the spooky films. These are just a few things that everyone seems to love about the changing of the seasons that leads up to one of the most popular days of the year: Halloween. October 31 is a special day to me. Each year, I can't help but smile to think about the months of September and October, and all of the amazing memories I have made in the years prior. But, the longstanding question in my mind is: why don't the younger generations of today share the same fondness?
Well, before we jump the gun on that statement, let me backtrack a bit to say that I feel that anyone can have a fondness of what THEY know as this time of year. But has it not changed? The corny commercials on television, the candy, the monsters, the scary costumes. Are those things only my generation can relate to? Has the world gotten so politically correct that the face and premise of Halloween is completely being advertised for something else?
I remember a time when Halloween was a strong marketing point for any brand that wanted to get their name out to children or adults. Even good ol' Count Chocula had some ad time on television. Every time you turned on the television there was a brand pushing a special product or having some sort of special offer around the idea of Halloween. The early 1990s were filled with creative Halloween commercials during the season, and outlandish sweepstakes. I'm still waiting to hear who won the Halloween party at the Bates Motel with Spuds McKenzie at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Probably never happened.
I remember when the costumes we wore were either sold spooky or made spooky and the teachers never discouraged you from wearing a mask to school on Halloween. Do they even encourage Halloween in schools anymore? It's totally hearsay, but I was recently informed that the schools are prohibiting all types of candy and snacks shy of a Goldfish cracker because of all these hybrid food allergies that kids are suffering from these days. No gluten, no sweets -- I can see why some of these kids dislike Halloween. It has to be some form of torture. 
What about Trick or Treating? I remember seeing kids EVERYWHERE. In the past few years, I would be lucky if I was able to get rid of half of the bowl of candy I am handing out. There seems to be a lack of Halloween participation and I don't know if it's the parents to blame or the kids not wanting to partake in the holiday tradition. Is modern technology the culprit preventing these kids from going out? Maybe if we combine Pokemon Go and Trick or Treating...
Seems cool, but probably not.
We may be at a loss. The Halloween that we know may be approaching its unstoppable end. Our generation may be the last generation to see it in its glory days and the children of tomorrow will never know of "how it used to be." They will never get to remember the days when you could trick or treat on your own without your parents worrying that you have a psychotic neighbor living on the block next to you, or if your candy needs to be double-checked by the police department. The golden era of Halloween may have died with the era that you could honestly trust your fellow neighbor as you could trust your own family. The time when everyone had each others' backs.
Now, the world is filled with real fears that, for a brief two month (or so) interval -- Halloween takes us away from. So, let's get lost in the wonders of Autumn and get a little distracted from politics and the nonsense worries of the world. Let the season take you away from the worry and enjoy the time with friends and family. Get close to that special someone and pop some popcorn and indulge in a cheesy slasher film or a classic film about monsters or giant space bugs. Life is just too short.
