Those outside trick-or-treaters
Living in a Newnan subdivision with houses in close proximity, we tend to get many trick-or-treaters. For the last several years, we have given out treats to 300 before running empty. We learned after our first year to sit on the porch and dispense the treats to save wear and tear on our doorbell.For the most part, our little visitors are polite and appreciative, with mom and dad standing back and encouraging a “thank you” from their children. Some of the older, unchaperoned kids, who are probably too old to participate anyway, are sometimes rude, asking questions such as “What kind of candy is that?” or “Do you know of any houses giving out full-sized candy bars?”
Like my favorite chocolate, the trick-or-treating experience for us is a bittersweet one. Our neighborhood is taken advantage of by rampaging hoards of outsiders. We see van loads of children from other counties, church buses from out of town, and carloads of nonresidents.
I can understand parents who live in areas where homes are not in close proximity want their children to have a safe and easy trick-or-treating, and they see neighborhoods like ours as a safe and easy area. But it does pose an unfair burden on residents in several ways: I have to buy more candy than is needed for just my neighborhood kids. I have seen my neighbors’ children shoved aside by large groups of kids dropped off in vans and buses. Drivers not familiar with our neighborhood sometimes drive the wrong way on one-way streets. Traffic is impeded as parents drop off and pick up children in front of each house.
Last year a father became indignant when I asked him to keep a large group off my grass. Another adult became annoyed when I told him to not let his dog urinate on my Halloween decorations.
I suppose I could just not participate, but I enjoy the event, providing treats for my neighborhood kids and the relatives I invite to my home. I just wish human beings didn’t take advantage of others.
Andy Denny, Newnan
