"What is it about you and Halloween?" my friend asked.
"C'mon! What's not to love about Halloween?" I replied. "Candy, costumes, creepy stuff ... everything about it is perfect."
My response was absolutely 100% the truth, but as I thought about it a bit more, I realized that wasn't the entire story. I have loved Halloween more than any other holiday for as long as I can remember for one very simple reason.
It is the ultimate equalizer.
Whether your parents make $12,000 per year or $12,000 per month, your chances of having a great costume are equal. Expensive costumes are no better than cheap ones. It's all about creativity.
When you're wearing that plastic Strawberry Shortcake costume complete with the fake-grin on the mask, no one knows who you are unless you give them a hint. You can hide amongst those who are not like you while standing right out in the open.
How much candy you manage to collect is limited only by how far your legs will take you. Strategy plays a part, of course, but life has a way of evening things out there as well. You go ahead and nab full-size candy bars at the giant houses with the beautiful lawns. I'll stick to the trailer parks with doors that are just steps apart. I can trick-or-treat at five or six houses in the time it takes you to walk down one mega-sidewalk.
The spirit of Halloween doesn't skip over your house in the bad years like Santa does. Sometimes you have to go find it, but it's there.
It doesn't matter who you are, who likes you, how poor you are, what you look like ... nothing matters. Halloween is an equal opportunity holiday. The fun is there to grab if you just reach out and take it.
