Halloween in NYC

I have never been a fan of Halloween. Ever. In my house it was referred to as the Devil’s holiday per my mother. She really hated Halloween. So for old times’ sake I will recall a Halloween memory. Close your eyes and remember with me. Ok don’t really close your eyes because then you can’t read the memory. Just imagine with your eyes open.

So it was Halloween and I was probably in the 6th grade. My mom had decided that because she couldn’t stand Halloween nobody else in America would enjoy it either. At least in our neighborhood. So while it was still light outside she hid candy around the house for us to eat. When night fell is when the real fun began. Come in closer. Closer. A little bit closer. I want to whisper what we did in your ear. We turned off all the lights. Closed all the blinds and sat really still. We didn’t want the evil trick or treaters to know we were in the house. They weren’t getting any candy. We could hardly breathe. TV? Forget it! The glare from the TV would let the evil six year olds know we were inside. There’s no telling what they would do. They could knock down the doors. In anger and hunger they would mistake us for chocolate bars and eat us. This is a true story. We really did sit in the dark one Halloween. Sorry mom. You knew I had to share this story.

So fast forward years and years later to Halloween in New York. It’s a lot scarier than those six year olds let me tell you. We decided to go out that night. Mainly because there is a huge parade that takes place. I was particularly interested in the parade because hundreds of everyday people would be dancing to Thriller during the parade. So Jaime, my mom and I step out the door and that’s when the drama ensues. It’s like Halloween gives everyone an excuse to act however and wear whatever they want. Here are some highlights (and there are pictures below).

4) A woman at my job is a Wiccan (witch) so we began to discuss it. Come to find out witches fast too. She was fasting because Halloween is like a sacred day or whatever. We talked and I listened and put in nuggets about Jesus when I felt led.

3) In our effort to see the parade better we got the bright idea to climb the scaffold in front of a building. It looked pretty stable and sturdy. We were gung ho until this drunk guy kept encouraging us to go up there with him. When he yelled “Paul help me get these girls up there!” we knew it wasn’t the smartest idea.

2) Unicorn vs. Pornocorn. Yes I saw a grown woman who had sewn her own unicorn costume, horn and all. Later I saw a man dressed as a pornocorn. Can you guess what his horn was made out of? If you guessed a blown up condom you would’ve won a million dollars. Can you believe it?

1) Hundreds of people doing thriller in the streets. I couldn’t get it on camera because it was way too crowded.