Here comes the Nanny State, preempting parental judgment, treating us all like errant children and sending us to bed without dessert. Well, BOO to you, [village] brain trust. You haven't declared an emergency, you let us run around on these now suddenly unsafe roads all last night and today, spending our money in village stores, and *that* wasn't unsafe, but families celebrating together is? Give us some credit for enough common sense to avoid the posted as potentially hazardous areas without punishing the entire village for Con Ed's poor response time. Driving is not an essential part of trick or treating. It can still be done by walking (or rolling in a wheelchair or scooter.) This is America, all the erosion of our freedoms recently notwithstanding, and I will not cower at home because you think I should. My family will be out, safely enjoying the holiday, despite your unwarranted interference.
Under what authority do they presume to cancel a holiday? Will people be OK with it when it is Christmas, Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving or Election Day next? This was not a government sponsored event that they had a right to regulate. And if the streets were unsafe for this purpose, they were unsafe for all purposes. This was over reaching.
So, in flagrant disregard for the paternalistic decree, out we went, safely, rationally, and without a hitch, joined by friends and fellow rebels from the neighborhood. Amazingly, since it was allegedly so very dangerous, there was *less* police presence than in previous years. Yet we went about our Trick or Treating for UNICEF unmolested and unharmed.
Mikro collected about ten dollars. I've been dropping all the change in my pockets into a UNICEF container since October 1st, so he will have a fair amount to donate from that. I think I'm up to about $30 there.
We finished the dragon costume in the nick of time, and over the course of the evening, it sprang a few seams that now need repaired. Since we may have an official, resceduled date for Trick or Treating here in the village, he may get to wear it again.
4 comments:
The costume looks great! Our town only suggested that people forgo trick-or-treating (read: scared people out of going) so we only had three kids that whole night. Sad. Especially since I was prepared this year. I was hoping since our school district closed today, I might see kids before dark, but apparently it's an unofficial requirement to wait until dark. *sigh*
Peace and Laughter,
Cristina
Awsome costume!!!! Good for you writing the letter. The really scary part is that other people so easily went along with the cancellation instead of thinking for themselves.
Was the cancellation because of snow? I'm confused...why would they cancel Halloween?
Awesome costume! I'm so impressed by your costume talents--very expert!
Good job going out despite the local government's disapproval. How dumb of them.
Thanks for the kudos on the costume. It was down to the wire getting it done, but I am really happy with how it turned out! Mikro loved it, and got tons of great comments.
We got snow on Saturday, that is largely melted away. There were still some blocks with trees down, or low hanging wires, and one closed off street with an electrical line down. Some homes are still without power, and a few streets do not have street lights.
But they gave us all a comprehensive list of the problem spots. And they *didn't close the roads*. Apparently, we were free to drive or walk around on these horribly dangerous byways for any purpose, so long as it *wasn't* trick or treating. All the stores are open, and people were out and about. It's hypocritical of them to cancel just the holiday but not tell people to simply stay off the streets. If they are dangerous, they are dangerous for all purposes.
They managed to put a damper on things, but they didn't succeed in killing the celebration entirely. Families did go out, but not as many as usual, and there were folks handing out candy even at some of the blacked out houses. People carried lanterns and flashlights, and kept their kids close, and carried on. So far as I know, nobody had any problems due to the "unsafe conditions of the roads". Most people were on the siewalks, not driving around.
There are comments on the news outlet about how this was "the only thing the village could do", but that is belied by the fact that other local communities just warned people of the dangers and let them do their thing, without announcing that the holiday was canceled. And of course, there are the typical comments about how we should care more about those with no power than not being able to dress up and party, as if the two are mutually exclusive. We had no power for a while. There have been past instances when we were out for 4 days in the dead of winter, and it is miserable to go through, but I didn't expect the village to cancel Christmas because *I* couldn't participate. I am sure the people whose houses are dark didn't expect to become the justification for the Grinches Who Stole Halloween either. Life goes on, and IMHO, when you have nothing to do but sit in the dark, distractions are welcome!
I hate the "people are starving in [insert third world country here], shut up and eat your peas" type attempts at silencing people, and being *told* what I should care about.
BOO to the government and the baa-ing sheep who blindly support it's edicts, no matter how ill considered. Hurray for happy rebels who know how to protest government stupidity, in all its manifold forms, from the petty to the tryannical.
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