Back in the day Trick or Treating was looked forward to with great anticipation because it was not only the the time to see how much candy I could fit inside of my cavernous pillow case, but it was the time to get together with my siblings, dress up in funny clothes, and go show the costumes to the neighbors. There was a street in my neighborhood you may have heard of named Osmond Lane. It was where all of the Osmond brothers at one time lived and is flanked with a gate and lined with imposing large Mansions. Every year this was the street to go to for gathering the best candy. Cars would line up and down the neighboring road as kids in costume popped in and out of their doors. I don't know if every neighborhood has such a street that draws the masses. If you are looking for it, I have found the trick or treating street of all streets and I doubt you could ever meet its equal.
Moana street is a relatively short street, flat, graced with palm trees and one story homes. It's the church-owned affordable housing for BYU Hawaii's faculty. I had heard more than a month before that this was the place to be on Halloween night (Saturday night for the Mormons). So I got dressed up in my outfit as a giant doll, walked a few blocks, and sat outside my friend Ellen's house to join in the festivities as a candy distributor. The street was completely packed with children in amazing costumes. The air was warm and caressing. One house even had Christmas style lights and spunky Hawaiian music as they passed out their candy. Ellen had 800 pieces and it was gone in just over an hour. It's not just for the candy that these people come. It is probably the safest street on the Island and a largely LDS crowd. The children are from all over the world. One Japanese boy who must have been under the age of two but walking was dressed in an adorable Curious George Bunting with a hood. His big brown eyes peeked up at me. After I dropped the candy into his bucket, he looked up and instead of the usual "thank you" with a little prodding from his dad offered me a bow. I bowed back. What a moment! I did find I had a hard time at first saying "Happy Halloween" instead of "Trick or Treat" but got it down eventually. I've never had so much fun passing out candy!
Liz patting Kei's powdered hair.
Kei, Ellen, a golfer, and I
I loved the Leprechauns!
