Trunk-or-treating, or a way to ruin holiday traditions to make your life easier?

I am a "trunk-or-treat" hater. The year I bought a house, Clarkston decided to do this new, safe method of attaining candy. I was so mad! So were a lot of old folks in town and die hard Halloweeners. Not to mention it is the laziest thing I have ever heard of and my kids do not need that much candy (without effort). My friend Megan and I worked on this a couple of years ago and got regular trick-or-treating brought back. Well, mostly Megan. Two years ago they did both and this year --no trunk-or-treat. (YEAH) It was so refreshing to see children (and parents), walking up and down the streets and going from door, to door. Now, I know there are some places where this just works out better, safe and distance wise, but not for us.

This morning my sister, who is a die hard letter to the editor fan, told me about one in the paper today and it made me laugh. Way to go GARY!!!!

Trunk-or-treating a blight on valley
Published:
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 2:27 AM CST

To the editor:As I sit here and collect my thoughts, I can picture kids unavoidably detained rationing the remainder of their candy; adults still reluctantly occupied cleaning up after the mess of the pranksters; and pranksters relishing in the afterglow of their achievements. Has another Halloween come and gone? It most certainly has. (I would hope all pranks were done in “good” fun, and if some of your pranks weren’t, well, that’s for the courts to decide.)

Although Halloween will return next year, it feels as though the tradition of trick-or-treating has come and gone in this valley, all thanks to the genius who introduced “trunk-or-treating” to us.Can you recall how the noxious weed, Dyers Wode (Isatis tinctoria), became a staple of frustrations for farmers, ranchers and scenic-view seekers alike? It was dragged here, “introduced” if you will, in the same manner of “trunk-or-treating.” Well, for an avid Halloween enthusiast such as myself, I feel as though the Dyers Wode seed of fun-kill was planted down my throat when the annual event of trick-or-treating was axed — no, “disemboweled” — from tradition.

The typical defense coming from an avid trunk-or-treating organizer is that it’s safer. That’s clearly a bunch of gobbledygook, (we live in Cache Valley). With cops crammed into every nook and cranny here, it’s still one of the safest places in the country. So that’s hardly a good argument. Strangers that may not fit the mold of what you think is proper are actually some of the best folks you can cross paths with. Give those you don’t know an opportunity of being accepted and included.Next Halloween, don’t sell out to what’s easy and convenient, provide your children with the same one you remember as a child. Remember, it’s not just fun for the kids, there are also hundreds of widows and widowers out there who miss the abundant laughter and smiling faces of your children, if but for only one night a year on their front doorstep. I know that there are still many of you who are continuing the tradition. Keep it up! Your children will thank you for it. If not now, they will someday, as you have given them a truly genuine memory to cherish.

For those of you who are just now finding out about “trunk-or-treating” and would like to know more about it, just look for the book: “Ninety-Nine effortless parenting activities for the indolent parent.” I’m not sure what number trunk-or-treating falls under, but you’ll find it in there somewhere.

Gary R. Olsen
Hyrum