I really enjoyed Halloween as a kid. But then I didn't really participate in Halloween after I got out of the Navy. Moved into the country where we were too far away from the rest of civilized society.

Then my wife and I divorced so now I'm in the city. A single man living alone in the city. I know that my neighbors' kids have been warned about me. When a couple of the neighborhood children discovered that I don't bite, they would come visit when I was working in my yard. But then one day one of them let slip that they were supposed to stay together - this when one of the girls wandered into my garage.

I don't blame the parents for imposing these kinds of restriction on their children given the stories one hears - though the rational part of my brain notes the relatively tiny percentage of children who are actually harmed by strangers is well, tiny.

So, for me - if I'm home, Halloween is a time when I keep my house dark and hide in the basement. I don't want to take any chances. Sad really.