Happy Halloween!

Halloween will be on Monday this year, so remember to buy some trick-or-treat candy if you haven’t already done so, and keep in mind that kids will be trick-or-treating and walking the streets before and after sundown.   

Although Halloween may not be the wide open affair it once was, it is still observed with some semblance of its old spirit in Roscoe. After living in the big city for so many years, I assumed that the “trick or treat” part was just about dead, and I was dubious last year when people told me to buy at least three bags of candy. 

But they were right. By the end of the evening, I had only about three Reese’s Sticks left from the three bags I bought. Some of the little kids did have mothers taking them around in cars, but more often than not it was big sisters or brothers out walking the streets with them, just like in the old days.

That’s a lot better than the urban suburbs, where one bag of candy is usually more than enough—at least where I lived. Trick-or-treating starts there about an hour before dark, and the kids in costume are invariably accompanied by mothers who stand a few steps back and carefully watch whoever answers the door. Many won’t even knock at a door that doesn’t have the porch light on and also something like a jack-o-lantern on the front porch to indicate that the house is a “safe” one.  

And an hour or so after dark, it’s all over. Maybe a couple of twelve-year-olds come around at 7:30 or so, but after that there are no more knocks. As far as the treats go, no mother is about to let her kids eat anything that’s not pre-packaged for fear the candy might have LSD in it or razor blades or something toxic. 

That’s not the way it was in Roscoe some fifty years ago. Back then, “trick-or-treat” meant trick or treat.  If we kids said, “Trick or treat,” and the person who answered the door didn’t give us some candy or if they told us to go away, then a “trick” was fair game. I can remember carrying a piece of soap to write with on window screens in case of such an eventuality, and I can also remember kids with toilet paper as well. 

And there were no adults out walking us around. When we were ready to go, our parents told us to behave ourselves, and then they went back in the house while we headed out for a night of adventure with masks on our faces and empty paper sacks that we were anxious to fill. 

We roamed the town knocking on doors and hoping to hit the jackpot with candy. As far as treats went, the best were not pre-packaged but home-made candy apples or caramel popcorn balls—although getting something like a Milky Way or Three Musketeers was a rare and treasured gift. Usually, though, the treat was something like candy corn, marshmallow peanuts, Kits, Tootsie Rolls, or some other kind of penny candy.

And prank playing was a regular part of the evening, especially for the older kids. While the younger ones were trick-or-treating, teenagers were out prowling around and running in packs looking for some kind of monkey business to get involved in. Those big enough to be going around in cars sometimes had water balloons, and if you were a kid walking the streets, you had to watch out for them. 

 When we got back home from our trick-or-treating, we emptied our sacks onto the table and checked out our take for the evening, and, if our mothers weren’t watching too closely, we ate too much of it, starting with the best first. 

Still, although Halloween has changed over the years, I’m sure today's kids enjoy the adventure much as we did.  

(For a Halloween greeting, click here.)

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CROSBYTON DISPATCHES PLOWBOYS 48-6

It was another tough game for the Plowboys Friday night as the Crosbyton Chiefs came in and methodically put them away with solid displays of both offense and defense.  The Chiefs’ Adam Ortiz returned a Plowboy fumble for a touchdown on the opening kickoff, and that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the game.  

The score at halftime was 21-0, and the Plowboys were held scoreless until Chris De Leon scored on a 38-yard touchdown run with 3:23 left to go in the fourth quarter.  The Plowboys played hard, but with their five turnovers—four fumbles and one interception—there was no chance of them staying in the game.  

Standouts on defense for the Plowboys were Landon Jones, Eric Padilla, and Luke Rovig and on offense Padilla, Rovig, and Chris De Leon.

The Plowboys play at home again this Friday, this time against the Ralls Jackrabbits, who are 3-5 on the year and 2-1 in district play.  Last Friday they beat Roby 20-6.  Kickoff is at 7:30.

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PLOWGIRLS’ CROSS-COUNTRY TEAM QUALIFIES FOR REGIONAL

The Roscoe Plowgirls’ cross-country track team came in third in the district meet on Monday to qualify for the regional meet on Saturday, November 5.  Girls on the team are Amber Craig, Danielle Dean, Crystal Luna, Jacinda Morales, Alura Renteria, Miriam Solis, and Whitney Williams.  

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WEATHER REPORT

Except for the lack of precipitation, Roscoe enjoyed a week of almost perfect weather, with highs in the low to mid eighties and lows in the high fifties.  It’s that time of year when neither air conditioners nor heaters are needed, and windows can be left open all day.  

That’s all supposed to change today with a norther blowing in and a 30% chance of rain tonight.  Tomorrow will bring a 50% chance of showers with a low tomorrow night in the upper thirties, which will be the coldest it’s been so far this year.  

The rain we got a couple of weeks ago has revived all the lawns around town, and everything is a lot greener now than it has been all year.  Even so, the Nolan County Commissioners re-instated the burn ban at their meeting on Monday, and a nice rain today or tomorrow would be more than welcome.