Where (almost) no Trick-or-Treaters Go

Today I began what may be my fool's errand of trying to coordinate a casually organized neighborhood trick-or-treat. Most of the people I've talked to so far have seemed a little bemused, but willing to play along. I actually wrote up a mini-flyer about it. I printed it on orange paper and had Vincent jazz them up with his Halloween stamp pad, and have been giving it to our more receptive neighbors.

We did get a no today. Our Very Bavarian neighbors, the ones that a not entirely sober pack of DeWeeses, DeWeeses to Be and Kolbs joined at their snow bar on New Year's (before the pond incident), said no to Halloween. But they were friendly enough to offer to take my (poor over-Americanized) kids "klöpfeln" - this is the somber Bavarian take on Christmas carolling. So it was a little funny, the Halloween Evangelist of Geigelsteinstraße and the UrCatholic standing on the stone porch next to a basket of hardy mums in the waning light of the late autumn afternoon, one trying to convert the other to her cause.

This mindset is the reason behind my pre-trick-or-treat round. 

Vincent was along for the Halloween mission. When I told Peter and Kilian about our visits over dinner, Vincent didn't add much of anything, except for this: "But someone said no, right, Mom?"

So I'm trying to pass on a little culture here, since trick-or-treating was one of the best parts of my young life. We'll see how things go. But it is definitely in the works.