Halloween 6 -- It's My Bag Baby: Electric Boogaloo

That's right! It's October 1st and I'm back for my sixth round with the Countdown to Halloween.  For the month of October "Garage Sale Finds" becomes "Stranger Finds" with every day showcasing a Halloween or Horror/Spooky related find.

As in previous years, I found myself doubting I could fill all 31 days, but reviewing my stock, I think I can do it.  Considering I've done this five previous times, I also thought it would be fun to throw in some old posts as well, so I plan on doing a new and a classic post daily (see right of this post).  You can thank me later.

Now that that's out of the way, here's the first bag of the season.  This bag combines two of my loves: Halloween and Burger Chef.  Unfortunately, this bag is from the post- Burger Chef & Jeff era that I fondly recall when the logo was changed from the smiley-faced, bow-tied chef you see in my avatar to the generic chef's hat logo.  You'll notice this freckle-faced Ginger is holding his own bag which shows him holding his own bag which shows him... Well you get it.  It's an example of the Droste Effect.

The back of the bag includes the obligatory "Safety Tips" so common to post-"razor blade hysteria".

Let's read through these and compare them to Trick or Treating when I was a kid.

• Start Trick or Treating early. Be home before dark.

My mom would never even let me start before dark.  She made me wait until 7:00 because "people are still eating".

• Wear light-colored clothing so you can be seen in the dark.

I don't recall ever wearing light-colored clothing as it would have been in conflict with whatever costume I was wearing, be it Wolfman or Spider-man.  Well, I guess the dress I wore that year I dressed up as a girl was pretty light-colored...

• Use sidewalks. Cross streets at intersections only.

My street didn't have sidewalks.  It had a small raised shoulder on one side. "Walk on the shoulder" my mom would always yell.  Our road was extremely narrow. The picture below will give you an idea.  You can see the school bus takes up nearly the entire width of the road. That dark bar on the far side of the street is the shoulder to which I'm referring.  There were no intersections for me to cross.

• Carry a flashlight

Ha! My dad let me have a flashlight?  Those were worth their value in gold in my house, so it seemed. God forbid you ever left the light on and drained the battery! Nope, I went out on that street after dark, in dark clothes with no flashlight.  If a car came barreling at you, you jumped into the weeds.

• Don't go into strange homes or apartments. 

There were no apartments on my street, so no concerns there, but it was common to be asked to come into houses.  Either while you waited while the homeowner scrounged for something (in the event they hadn't planned for Trick or Treaters) or so they could take your picture.

• Skip houses that don't have their outside lights on.

There was no rule for this when I was a kid, at least none I observed.  You beat on that door.  "Hello?!  I know you're in there!"  I swear one time I went up to a house and when the guy answered, he kind of blocked the door where I couldn't see in.  I'm pretty sure there was something illicit going on inside.  I also recall my first Halloween when I was about 5.  I went out with my sister and a bunch of her friends.  We walked up a very long driveway only to arrive at a darkened house.  That didn't stop us. We swarmed around the house peering into the windows looking for life inside.  Nothing creepy about that.

• Don't go by yourself.  Trick or Treat with your parents or a friend. 

I know there were years I was the ONLY Trick or Treater on my street. I only recall my mother going once with me when I was 6. The rest of the years, I was on my own (my sister Trick or Treated with a friend of hers in her friend's subdivision. No little brothers allowed).

• Bring any fresh fruits home and let your parents examine them before you eat them.

Fresh fruit???  If I got so much as an apple, I chucked that sucker into the weeds. I swear there are apple trees growing on our street now from all the apples I tossed. Where's the candy bars?!

• Don't eat treats that are not wrapped or sealed

One of my favorite treats was homemade popcorn balls. I'd have that thing eaten by the time I got home. I also used to receive open treat bags of Mellowcremes or candy corn.  There was no threat there, though, because I threw those out. I never liked them.

With all those rules, how could you have fun? Thanks, Burger Chef, for ruining Halloween.

But don't let this ruin YOUR Halloween.  Get Trick or Treating on over at The Countdown to Halloween and be sure to bring your bag -- they're handing out Fun-sized Treats for all! Yeah, baby!