Yes, I realize Halloween is so much more than Candy Day, but it is the giant sprinkle of sugar on the big giant sundae that is Hallows Eve. When I was a kid Halloween was the second best holiday of the year, Christmas being the first for the obvious reasons, two weeks off, presents, sleeping in late, Rudolph on TV (“Bumbles bounce!). As an adult, Halloween is so much better than the winter holiday as it’s a stress reliever instead of a stress inducer.

As a kid Candy Day was an excellent way of supplementing an allowance by getting roughly a month’s worth of candy at one shot. It was so much more than that in my neighborhood as hundreds of kids descended on the blocks, house after house collecting chocolate or fruity goodness in an empty pillow cases. Good nights of hunting and gathering included a trip or two home to unload said pillow cases and back out for more. The word of mouth up and down the city blocks worked much better than any modern phone or app sharing which houses had the best stuff.

There were the older kids that chased this nine year old pirate; and this pirate at thirteen chasing new nine year old’s; mostly for scares and power, the chase-ee becoming the chaser. There was that one neighbor that handed out full sized candy bars; and the one that handed out home made popcorn balls that ended up feeding crows. There was Mrs. McCormick that completely transformed into a witch and scared the crap out of the younger kids, she appearing from the dark after ringing her doorbell, in a performance better than the wicked witch of the west, as big as life in a small frame on her front porch.

Our eighth grade teacher, who thought us too old for trick-or-treating, would hold up at his in-laws house somewhere in the neighborhood ready to hand out punishment if he recognized you. We never figured out why he was so against a teenager trick-or-treating. We did figure out the house and made so many never executed revenge pranks, but eventually just avoided the place all together.

We devoured as much of the bounty as possible that night, never having our parents check for the feared needles and razor blades of urban legend. We did break open our Milky Ways first, just to be safe. The Peanut Butter Cups went first, followed by the Milky Ways, 3 Musketeers, M&M’s, Crunch bars and Reese’s Pieces. Then came the fruities, the tarts & sours, then the Tootsie Pops and suckers. The little bags of candy corn and Circus Peanuts would slightly stale from lack of interest. Trading was necessary and required.

And, there were your best friends. The one’s you teamed up with to conquer the neighborhood, strategizing for days in advance, planning routes and costumes and pranks. Those that would push to stay out a little longer despite how heavy your pillow case got. They were the ones to be counted on for fair trades, shared stories and plans that would soon be forgotten for the next year.