I remember back when I was in grade school getting on the bus to go to school on Halloween and the day after and marveling at the troubles that the teens had wrought the previous nights. There would be trees covered in toilet paper, shaving cream on mailboxes and on roads, eggshells from random bombings, not to mention the smashed jack-o'lanterns. I loved seeing the mess. Of course, I did my small part a few years later and that was a blast.
I remember those precious few nights when I loaded up and went out with friends. We made a mess and got messed ourselves as we would cross paths with rival groups of revelers. We quickly learned there were territories where groups of youths roamed armed with the means of Halloween's destruction. This would lead to confrontations, thrown eggs, and chases through dark yards. Those were good times.
Today and for the past number of years, however, things have changed. Today I don't see anything. No toilet paper, no shaving cream, no eggshells, and no broken pumpkins. I can only hope this is a limited thing and other neighborhoods still have some rampant Halloween mischief to report.
As I sit and think about this lack of a mess was caused by. Is it overprotective parents not letting their kids out of their sight? Is it the mandated curfews? Is it parents who plan every moment of their kids lives? Is it a change in culture? Kids growing up to fast? I don't know. I do think kids are a little sheltered and either don't know of this grand tradition or don't care. Sometimes it also feels like kids are forced to grow up too fast and they skip over a lot of kid stuff.
I don't know. All I can really say is that I miss seeing it. I don't miss having to clean it up, but I do miss seeing it.
Article first published as Where oh Where has Mischief Night Gone? on Technorati.
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