A Halloween for the Record Books
To the Editor,
I have lived in this neighborhood through every chapter of my adult life, and I can say with confidence that this Halloween was one for the record books.
To everyone who spent days decorating your stoops and windows, who bought bags of candy you will never get credit for, and who stood in your open doorways with a smile: thank you. Nobody required any of it of you but the joy you brought through your effort was not unnoticed or unappreciated. There is an unspoken social contract on Halloween night, and this neighborhood honors it better than anywhere I know.
Thank you for complimenting every costume as though it were the best you had ever seen. Thank you for greeting the smallest trick-or-treaters at eye level. And thank you for the patience and gentle kindness you showed the nervous ones, the children who needed a minute at the bottom of the steps before working up the courage to say the magic words. My own two young children walked away feeling brave and filled with a sense of wild, innocent joy, and you are the reason why.
Halloween is a true community holiday. It brings families to your doorsteps and neighbors into the same warm glow, and it reminds us to share something sweet and see one another. In a world that can feel divided, an evening like this gives me real faith.
With gratitude,
Katie on Myrtle Street