I continue to read books and watch documentaries where characters are referred to “tired, old people, as much as 65 years old.” We’re lucky to live in times when age 60 is the age 40 of years past. Modern medicine, fitness techniques, less strenuous work, better diet, and time for relaxation give us more years of good living. I’m proud and fortunate to have made it to the golden years of travel and retirement.

My current age of 66 is a sense of pride and accomplishment.  To continue the year-long birthday celebration, my wife bought me a commemorative sign titled “The Mother Road,”  with a map of Route 66 stretching from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California.  Fittingly, last October we spent in Chicago and this October in Santa Monica.  We have not driven the entire road from beginning to end, and probably never will, since sections of the original highway don’t even exist any more.  However, we have visited many of the cities along it’s 2,448 mile route.  (See Post #235).

It’s Halloween and also my night to cook.  Fortunately, my wife hid the chocolate bars that we will hand out to Trick or Treaters tonight.  I am an admitted chocoholic, and can’t help but think back to childhood and scouring the neighborhood for candy.  I would use a pillow case to collect my sweet fortune and return to the house several times during the evening to evaluate my take.  I’d dump out all the candy on the floor and separate it into piles of favorites and rejects, noting where the good stuff was being passed out.  I would then change costumes and go back for more.  For example, our next door neighbor always made popcorn balls, so they could expect me three or four times that night – I often wonder if they knew that I was a repeat customer.  Full-sized candy bars were one of my quests, and I now always insist on giving those away every Halloween.

I would improvise on costumes, especially if I needed to make multiple visits.  A Beatles wig came in handy one year, while a football helmet helped hide my face.  Hoods, baseball uniforms, pajamas, oversized coats, stocking caps, masks, clown paint, mascara, glasses, swim goggles, mustaches, sunglasses, and capes were popular disguises, and could be easily interchanged.  One costume that was particularly memorable was when I dressed up as an Outhouse, wrapping myself in a while sheet sprayed with graffiti, with the toilet-seat ring around my neck and a plunger in one hand.  I’ve dressed as Poppin’ Fresh, a George Dickel bottle, an Indy Car driver, and even Baywatch’s David Hasselhoff, but I haven’t donned a costume in years, preferring to leave that to the kids.

Trick or Treat.