Today was Wegmans’ Halloween parade and in-store trick-or-treating. This was crazy. At times, I thought I was literally going to be trampled by the swarm of 3-foot tall Shreks and miniature Batmen.

When I was a kid, I never took too much pride in my Halloween costume. Maybe that’s cause my costumes were never very good. Apparently, that hasn’t changed. While there were a few kids who were obviously very proud of their costumes, most kids looked like I always did; vaguely clueless and bored, aware only of the possibility that there was candy to be had.

However, where the kids were lacking in boastfulness, the parents gladly made up. It was all unspoken, but it was clear that many parents were living more than a little vicariously at this event. And you spot those parents. They were the ones who brought there kid right when the event started, so they could stand in line with him/her and puff up their chests at the thought that their little angel with the custom-sown outfit looked far better than anyone else’s. Indeed, as the time got later, the quality of the costumes declined markedly, to something I was more used to.

I know that the point of having trick-or-treating in-store, in a well lit area, is supposed to be safety and comfort for younger kids. There aren’t many events where a parent can accompany their kids without walking around dark streets. Of course, this also makes it ideal to that same sort of pushy parent. Hopefully the kids are smart enough not to let their parents’ Halloween ambitions get the best of them.

They certainly never did for me. Heck, Halloween is Sunday, and I still don’t have a costume picked out. Maybe I should figure that out soon…

Posted on October 28th, 2004 by Lee
Filed under: Uncategorized