Volunteer by Day, Ninja By Night!
“Beware of the NINJA!”
That was the sign that we should have somewhere on our driveway in big letters to warn the 4-7 year old Trick-Or-Treaters.
My brother, sister, and I spent many holidays volunteering at events. Afterall, my dad was known as the “Chief Beggar.” The nickname was given to him half affectionately by his friends, as he was the activities director, then an executive later on, for a nonprofit. Halloween, however, tended to be all about creativity and the hoarding of candy and brought out our worst natures.
I noticed that every year the trick-or-treaters would get bigger and bigger. Either they REALLY had indulged on the prior Halloween, or they were seventeen year olds who couldn’t bring themselves to give it up. My parents were a good sport about giving out the candy to someone of any age, but not if they went “as themselves.”
My brother realized he was a little old for it, so he relegated himself with finding some fabric to put around his head, and grabbing a broomstick to create a ninja costume that took all of ten minutes of effort. He would climb the tree in the front yard and would lay in wait until people came to the door, and then he would jump down at them!
Of course, in the ensuing years, he had to be careful. The original ninja accessories were too small after a growth spurt, and he couldn’t “fill in” with colored bandannas that were around the house as someone would think he was trying to be a gang member for Halloween.
Nowadays, there are a lot of Teen Halloween Costumes costumes geared towards people like my brother sort of fell through the cracks of being too old for the masks with the elastic in the back, and the big commitment some of the expensive adult costumes were at the time. I admit that I myself are looking at the teen sizing because as a more petite framed person, some of the adult sizes I swim in!
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