Halloween 2025: Group Photo #27

October 27

     There is a long, thin public park a few blocks from where I grew up in Rock Valley, Iowa. The park had fenced off tennis courts on the west end and was flanked by railroad tracks to the north and a gravel parking space on the south. The east end the park petered out until a road cut it off. A long cable supported by wooden stumps that were hand painted white separated the grass, the swing sets, and the slides from the cars parked on the gravel.

    One of my favorite Halloween memories happened in this park, and it only lasted for a moment. 
    I was in sixth grade and dressed as a skeleton. I had a two-part mask that was separated at the jaw hinge. The two parts of the "skull" were stuck to my face with adhesive pads. When I talked the bottom jaw moved with mine. That was a cool effect. The rest of my costume consisted of a black hoodie and black sweat pants adorned with white tape "bones."
    I was running with a pack of five friends, and although we didn't know, this was going to be the last time we went Trick or Treating. That park near my house separated two neighborhoods, and we were running past to get to more houses with their porch lights lit. 

    In an effort to get a head of the group, I turned left, placed a foot on a white stub of a wood fence, and leaped into the air with my legs still pumping. With one fist grasping a bag of candy and the other thrust into the air in celebration, I flew through the night sky and then landed without missing a stride. 

    I turned and saw that my friends had all made similar leaps. I yelled, "Yes!" and they laughed in agreement. Soon, we were through the park, over the tracks, and ringing the nearest doorbell.

    

    And that's it. Just a few perfect seconds for a kid in a costume on a Halloween night. Who needs more than that?

    All I need is chapter one of Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree if I ever want to relive that feeling. 

    Thanks, Ray. 

    Daphne is kind enough to put up this print for me each October. I like Tom Skelton's costume.