Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Under Dog, and Yogi Bear are the costumes I remember from my childhood. Oh, and occasionally with a limited budget or a parent's moment of weakness, the traditional hobo costume. These costumes were not made of spandex, tulle, Velcro, and sequences. It basically was a one-piece suit that was stepped into and pulled up like a jumpsuit. Accept it wasn't made of cotton, no it was made of a fire-retardant plastic and was sewn together loosely and there was a plastic hem around the neck that had to be tied in a bow in the back.

Yes, we wore this transformative costume over our clothes, and living in the north it was over layers of clothing. The mask that had openings for the eyes and small holes for the nose and a tiny slit in the mouth area of a durable plastic and was held in place over the face with a single rubber band with tiny anchors on both sides of the mask. If those anchors broke or they ripped the mask, it was impossible to wear it.

These costumes were lined up on display at the local five and dime store in mid-October, unlike these days, as the costumes begin to appear in stores a few days after 4^t.h of July. This holiday had a traditional cartoon as well. Charlie Brown's Halloween, that was sponsored by "Dolly Madison," the Hostess cakes and cookies of the 1960s and 1970s.

I seem to only remember the times Halloween fell on a school day. The excitement of the day, running home for lunch and adding my costume to the school wardrobe and racing off to join my classmates in the Halloween parade around the school. Our teacher made a big deal of each costume trying to guess who was under the plastic mask of cartoon characters. We all thought we were in the best disguise and she would never guess who it was. There were no dietary restrictions and as we marched through the halls of our school, teachers and administrators dropped candy bars, candy corn, lollipops, bubble gum and tootsie rolls in the makeshift bags we decorated in art class a few days before.

When the 3 o'clock bell rang we all scrambled out the door leaving trails of candy wrappers. Homework was done on a sugar high and we watched a few cartoons as our mothers prepared a quick meal before we headed out for the night's tricks or treats. We gobbled down the meal fearing we would miss out on the best treats because there always seemed to be kids out ahead of us. Back in those days, the events did not start until the street lights came on. Parents stayed at home giving out the candy and the kids were free to roam the neighborhood collecting the rewards of the day.

There were corner stores that gave out cans of soda and there was no such thing as a bite-size candy bar. There were the sweet old ladies in the neighborhood that gave out homemade candy apples or popcorn balls wrapped in wax paper and it was impossible not to take a bite out of the apple. Little by little the porch lights went out and it was our queue to head home and unload our goods and start swapping candy with siblings. Mom would always get the first look over the loot and then allow us an hour to barter and taste before heading to bed. And yes, we all managed to wake up the next morning and head out for school like any other day, except maybe with a pocket full of bubble gum and candy corn.

The candy eventually ended up combined in a tin or large container for everyone to dig through and enjoy. My mother put it in the big roasting pan used for our Thanksgiving turkey. If the candy was not gone by then it was disposed of to make room for Tom Turkey.

These days the experience is different, from trunk r' treats in church parking lots, to daytime trick or treating at local shopping malls. The candies are smaller, dietary restrictions are put on parents and children, and the day is not celebrated on the 31^st if it falls on a weekday.

What I love about this holiday is the autumn colors, the cooler weather, the pumpkins and ghosts and goblins, and the crunch of the leaves underfoot. It is something to watch the hues of orange, yellow, purple, reds, and gold changing daily on the trees and falls gently to the ground and the frosty, dewy mornings when the sun comes up and creates a kaleidoscope.