We seem to be infested with ghosts and goblins

Today is the kickoff the Wigderson Library & Pub's Halloween celebration. If you can forgive a little corporate synergy, in this week's column for the Waukesha Freeman I look back at Halloween growing up and how I seem to have been sucked into it now.

Unlike today’s teenagers who trick or treat long past the age when it is seemly to do so, I quit the racket at an early age. Halloween became just another football Sunday in October.

While my interest was elsewhere, America’s interest in the holiday increased. Years later, after I met my wife, I discovered how big the holiday had become in the absence of my attention. Yards are now filled with the giant inflatables and blow-plastic figurines once reserved for brightening Christmas. Halloween costumes and decorations are no longer the province of specialty stores but are as ubiquitous as fireworks stands in late June.

My wife is an enthusiast of the holiday, and we have the now-obligatory Halloween display in front of our house. I’m concerned that some local business might try to land a helicopter in my front lawn guided by the glow of our white ghost with the light bulb far above the recommended wattage.

Have fun (and, as always, well worth the fifty cents).

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