Childhood
How We Changed The World: A Halloween Memory
10/28/06 Filed in: Balderdash
When I was a kid in Cincinnati, Ohio, the community
somehow got the idea that it would be best if
children weren't running around in the dark wearing
disguises, what with The Boston Strangler killing
people in Massachusetts and all. How that figured
into it, I don't know...maybe there were other
circumstances, but I remember the Boston Strangler
being at least part of the excuse. So, Halloween was
transformed into a daylight activity. Yep:
No house to house begging after dark. And if the 31st
fell on a weekday, we had to do this on the closest
Saturday. If your idea of Halloween was toddlers in
bunny costumes and babies dressed as puppies and
fairies or something, then yes, this was just dandy,
but I was old enough to want the scary part. (In
principle, of course: My older brother and sister
routinely scared the crap out of me and I screamed
myself into hysteria.)
After a couple of years, though, as the 'novelty' of parading around in broad daylight dressed as a Dead Guy or Batman or King Kong began to wear thin, my neighbor Dickie from 3 streets over decided he'd had enough. He organized a protest, because it was the era of protests and the man was keepin' us down. There we were, a bunch of little kids, maybe 7 or 10 of us in all, marching around in a circle with our cardboard signs painted with slogans and chanting "Halloween At Night! Halloween at Night!!". We were a site to behold. We were a force to be reckoned with, we would not be denied our right to an October 31 after dark trick-or-treat experience. Did this protest happen at City Hall, at the very steps of power, in front of the city manager's office? No. Did it happen at our town center, where Miami Avenue crossed the railroad tracks? No. This determined mob of children marched and protested in front of Dickie's house, where we were certain to be seen by all of 3 cars, none of which were driven by 'the man'. We were doomed to failure. But....
Dig it: Dickie's dad called the TV stations, and Channel 9 sent a truck and a cameraman and a reporter. Channel 9 showed up to tape footage of our band of tiny militants. Channel 9! The same station that showed Uncle Al and Captain Windy every morning! Channel 9! The Big Time!! In households across the Greater Cincinnati area (which included Northern Kentucky and SouthEastern Indiana), families sat slack-jawed in awe as we delivered our powerful message. "Halloween At Night!" We had staged a protest rally, we had gotten through to the masses! Our collective cry for justice would turn the people against their harsh masters and we would win the day! It was exhilarating.
It was also unsuccessful. If we had staged the rally at a better time, perhaps the outcome would've been different, but the intricacies of local government are often lost on children, no matter the strength of their convictions. Our protest took place a few days before Halloween, not nearly enough time to allow for the debate and review of such a polarizing issue. We endured yet another Daylight Halloween. We had planted the seeds of dissent, though, and a generation of children in the North Eastern suburbs of Cincinnati have us to thank for Halloween At Night.
After a couple of years, though, as the 'novelty' of parading around in broad daylight dressed as a Dead Guy or Batman or King Kong began to wear thin, my neighbor Dickie from 3 streets over decided he'd had enough. He organized a protest, because it was the era of protests and the man was keepin' us down. There we were, a bunch of little kids, maybe 7 or 10 of us in all, marching around in a circle with our cardboard signs painted with slogans and chanting "Halloween At Night! Halloween at Night!!". We were a site to behold. We were a force to be reckoned with, we would not be denied our right to an October 31 after dark trick-or-treat experience. Did this protest happen at City Hall, at the very steps of power, in front of the city manager's office? No. Did it happen at our town center, where Miami Avenue crossed the railroad tracks? No. This determined mob of children marched and protested in front of Dickie's house, where we were certain to be seen by all of 3 cars, none of which were driven by 'the man'. We were doomed to failure. But....
Dig it: Dickie's dad called the TV stations, and Channel 9 sent a truck and a cameraman and a reporter. Channel 9 showed up to tape footage of our band of tiny militants. Channel 9! The same station that showed Uncle Al and Captain Windy every morning! Channel 9! The Big Time!! In households across the Greater Cincinnati area (which included Northern Kentucky and SouthEastern Indiana), families sat slack-jawed in awe as we delivered our powerful message. "Halloween At Night!" We had staged a protest rally, we had gotten through to the masses! Our collective cry for justice would turn the people against their harsh masters and we would win the day! It was exhilarating.
It was also unsuccessful. If we had staged the rally at a better time, perhaps the outcome would've been different, but the intricacies of local government are often lost on children, no matter the strength of their convictions. Our protest took place a few days before Halloween, not nearly enough time to allow for the debate and review of such a polarizing issue. We endured yet another Daylight Halloween. We had planted the seeds of dissent, though, and a generation of children in the North Eastern suburbs of Cincinnati have us to thank for Halloween At Night.
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RIP Bob Keeshan
01/23/04 Filed in: Balderdash
One of the last links to my early childhood is now broken. I was a huge Captain Kangaroo fan.
I don't remember feeling 'talked down to' by the Captain and Mr. Green Jeans and the gang, just entertained, and enchanted.
Godspeed, Captain. Say hello from me to Jim Henson and Fred Rogers.
Of course, Soupy Sales is still with us.
This just in via Boing Boing: The Captain surely would've loved this
Ping Pong Ball avalanche!
