If you are a parent or grandparent of young children, you’ll know what I’m talking about when I use the term “trunk or treat.” You’ll also understand that a “pumpkin patch” is more than a field of large orange gourds.
But if you aren’t, I’m here to give an updated report of these two currently popular Halloween events, and I’m doing it from the center of the storm as I visit my grandchildren in St. Louis.
My first experience was with a pre-school class of 4- and 5-year-olds as they walked a quarter of a mile from their schoolroom to a “pumpkin patch.” If you visualize a pumpkin “patch” as being somewhere over hill and dale out in the country, you are definitely from an older generation. No, this pumpkin selling lot was located right in the heart of Ballwin, a busy St. Louis suburb.
My daughter, Betsy, and I held hands with her 4-year-old twins, Cami and Colin and waited as two incredibly patient and perky pre-school teachers attempted to organize the group march. It took quite an effort, but the young mothers and teachers didn’t seem perturbed. I wondered if we’d ever get going, but suddenly we were off, like a small army with the stroller brigade of young mothers bringing up the rear.
The day was warm and sunny, and I was happy to note that some things never change. Children still find the biggest piles of fallen leaves to scuffle through, and when we reached the corner lot filled with forsale pumpkins, they were still more interested in running and screaming than in picking out pumpkins.
After everyone had picked out a pumpkin, the incredibly patient and perky teachers finagled the children to stop running and screaming (or, in the case of my grandchildren to stop changing their minds about which pumpkin to bring home) and pose for a group picture. Surprisingly, the little ones meekly complied and patiently smiled for the cameras as parents whipped out the smart phones glued to their hands and clicked away.
The second “new Halloween” experience was attending a Trunk or Treat sponsored by my granddaughter Natalie’s elementary school. For safety reasons all participants pre-registered and every car was checked in upon entering the parking lot (a sad but true aspect of current society). Once inside the designated area, no one could leave until eight o’ clock.
Inside the parking lot, cars with open trunks were crammed in rows. The place was a madhouse. Everyone brought a ton of candy, which was passed out from the open trunks. Decorating car trunks was also part of the scene. My daughter and son-in-law threw up some “cobwebs” purchased at Target, hung a couple of paper bats, opened the candy bags, and we were in business. I plopped down in a lawn chair and passed out candy to the crowds of monsters, goblins, Elsas and batmen making the rounds. As I threw gobs of assorted Twixs, Nerds, and Butterfingers into a variety of containers, Betsy and Steve took the twins on the rounds and 9-year-old Natalie enjoyed the experience with a girlfriend.
The sun set, twilight lingered as costumed figures dashed about, and I thought how very Halloweenish the whole scene was. It wasn’t much different than the Halloweens of my youth. The only difference being my neighborhood was safe enough so my friends and I could ramble alone through the darkening night and trick and treat without fear.
But, on the whole, this parking lot gave the same Halloweeny feel as kids dashed about enjoying themselves. We finally drove from home with tired but sugar-energized children.
If I had to make any kind of observation on the “new” Halloween, it would be that yes, the world changes, but many things stay the same.
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