The Real Halloween Witch

I shared my response after reading a”Dear Prudence” on Slate . This was regarding a woman who was upset about poor kids eating her Halloween candy. I dubbed her the Halloween Witch although in Prudies article she is referred to as something else, I like mine better. I wrote an open letter on my FAN page. In the hopes that she would have a little more compassion in the years to come. 

My father is the boy with the blue X. 


Dear #Prudence,

I recently READ your response to the person who didn’t like the “poor” kids coming into her neighborhood for halloween candy. Thank you for being brutally honest with her. 

You see Halloween was my fathers favorite holiday when he was a little boy. He had the most authentic raggedy costume, the mothers would rave when they answered the door to hand out the candy. He really took his costume seriously, with dirt and rags.

That night he would come home and count his sweet treats and relish in moment that for once life could be so sweet.

My father grew up in an orphanage he was shuffled between two in his life. One in New York which was great, then the one in Michigan wasn’t the best.

Halloween was the one time a year my father could go out and not feel ashamed. He was in his school clothes, his costume was his everyday outfit.

Now my father was fortunate to make something of himself and because of that and of my mother…I lived a very privileged life.

With that said even when my father was struggling when he was in his early 20’s, he made sure he had loads and loads of halloween candy to pass out on halloween. For the child in the rags could be a reality, but for tonight it’s just make-believe and reality ceases to exist.

After all on Halloween we are all pretending to be something we are not, to either stand out or fit in. Whatever the reason is it’s like you said, what’s another bag of candy?


Sincerely,


Adrianne 

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