Member-only story
A moment of blessed normalcy in 2020
I wasn’t sure what to do. I asked around — no one was sure. But every day as I walked my neighborhood — they were there. Out playing, riding bikes, climbing trees, chasing each other with sticks.
I knew I would have Halloween for THEM.
The children who live in my neighborhood still play with each other. Not in large groups, but it seems perhaps a few small bands have inter-quarantined with success.
So tonight — before dark — I set my massive bowl of Halloween candy out on my porch. Contactless — however — I left the door open, so I could watch through my storm door should any goblins arrive.
And arrive they did. Princesses and zombies. Minions and superheroes. They all came for a share of my treats. I stood at my door long after the last one had left. I stared into the night across my neighborhood with joy in my heart. So many houses had porch lights on and orange decorations sending a spooky glow into the night.
The small bands of trick or treaters skipping tirelessly from porch to porch with the kind of energy that takes root in the young. And the young at heart.
I fell in love with this place all over again. These Humans who reside within our tiny three-street development were Real Neighbors. We were not going to let our…
