Manners speak so loudly

Katybug

Katybug

Senior Member
Location
Charlotte, NC
Living in a high rise condo bldg, tonight was my first participation in Halloween in over a decade, via my job -- Nanny duties for a divorced dad. Tonight my duties were to passing out candy while he took lil guy trick or treating. It was rough, so rough it's laughable! The next door neighbor friend came over and we went through a bottle of wine sitting on the front porch, and there were 4 big bowls of candy on the table in front of us for the kids to just pick up and take what they wanted.....like I said, it was a really tough evening! This is a very wealthy section and the homes are extremely close together, so this neighborhood is Utopia in Candyland! The kids from the burbs come in on buses and that is no exaggeration. Not a bad thing, you've just got to make sure you have enough candy!

Hey, it's Halloween so maybe it's all rules off.......There were lots of big kids who were at least a foot taller that I am and I resent the older teenagers coming, but what are you going to do? And so many who just walked up with no greeting whatsoever even when being spoken to & grabbed hand fulls of candy as fast as they could, then practically ran to the next house with no acknowledgment of appreciation....poor manners bug me to death. A "Happy Halloween" or "thank you" would have worked well, but so many of them were guilty of that -- and I always blame that on the parents.

One of the greatest things we can do as parents is emphasize the importance of good manners and last night was not a good example.
 

Last edited:
My trick or treaters tonight were all very well mannered, even the ones dropped off from other neighborhoods. I never just put out a bowl of candy either, I hand them out myself. If a little one want to pick out some extra candy in particular, then I let them take what they like. I always said please and thank you to people and still do, as my mother taught all of us respect and manners. I think they might be more mannerly if there's one on one interaction with them, more personal to give the candy to them.
 
We always handed candy out and sometimes would let the little ones take what they wanted. We always tried to interact with trick or treaters but you can't always do so. Our trick or treaters tonight were all very well mannered; we didn't have any, not one. Now I'm stuck with it all.:)
 

Lucky you, I got hit with 5 of them! I'd packed little bite sized Mars Bars and Cherry Ripes into 6 plastic ziplok sanga bags so I was ready for it but thought I'd be luckier than only get to eat on left-over myself.

btw, only one said 'thanks', the rest were too busy checking out the bags. I hate Halloween, it doesn't belong here, but I can't afford to get the local budding terrorists off-side. aaaaghhh.
 
None here either. One of the advantages of living in a 55 or older park. I do miss the little ones in their cute costumes at times.
When we lived in town, we had more kids than candy. Our two dogs were hoarse the next day from barking at the tricksters.
 
I saw one little girl dressed as a witch around 3:00PM, and one car-load pulling up down the street at 7:30PM, and that was it. Of course, in this neighborhood you're more likely to get caramel-covered crack and weed cookies in your bag.

On second thought, I hope it's not too late to go out ...

Back in the day we never let the kids pick their own; we always handed the bags out TO them. Yeah, part of our ritual was making up bags - during our prime years we made over 300 bags, and most of them were gone at the end of the night. We weren't stingy, either - each bag had a dozen or so treats / toys in it. If we ran out then Dad would break out the rolls of quarters. :D

I didn't give anything out this year, but if I had I think I would have done this:

onion-candy-apple.jpg
 
dbeyat45 said:
What's this Halloween thing? ;)
Click to expand...

My little granddaughters visited me for about 5 minutes before going to some planned activities last night. But it had to be an early night for them too, since it was a school night.

I don't see neighborhood kids come around anymore either .. they've all grown up and moved on .. my 'family' neighborhood has turned into an old folks hood.
I usually buy a bag of candy bars every year, out of habit, just in case...
 
SeaBreeze said:
My trick or treaters tonight were all very well mannered, even the ones dropped off from other neighborhoods. I never just put out a bowl of candy either, I hand them out myself. If a little one want to pick out some extra candy in particular, then I let them take what they like. I always said please and thank you to people and still do, as my mother taught all of us respect and manners. I think they might be more mannerly if there's one on one interaction with them, more personal to give the candy to them.
Click to expand...

We were sitting on either side of the table the entire time and we attempted to interact with each of them, just some responded and some didn't. Just FYI, our wine was consumed inside before any of them arrived.(wink!)
 
We didn't have anyone come by here either, although I saw a mother and two costumed kids walking down the road, going somewhere, probably a friend or relatives house. It was cold, wet, and windy here though, so not much of a nite for being out trick-or-treating.
My mom and Grandfather used to have a little neighborhood store when I was young, so ALL the kids came by there for their halloween goodies. And, even though I didn't really like candy, I always enjoyed the dressing up in a costume and going around town with my paper bag.
We were always polite, and said our thank you after receiving our treat.
I especially remember one little old lady that would make us each sing a song before we could get our cookie (which was homemade, so it was well worth singing for ).
I am sure she heard lots of versions of "Jingle Bells", since we mostly didn't know a lot of songs at that age.
Later, when I was too old to go out for candy, I used to love putting on my vampire costume and hissing at the little kids when they showed up at our house for treats.
 
Haven't had any ghoulish visitors in years and miss handing out treats, talking to the kids and admiring their costumes. The older ones never bothered me. Heck, the fun of Halloween should be for everyone. I would agree manners are out the window which makes it all the more enjoyable when a teenager is actually polite. God bless 'em.
 
I had about a dozen trick or treaters, all accompanied with their parents. If they didn't say thanks on their own, their parents reminded them. I like to see them all excited about their costumes and having a night like no other in the whole year.
 
Thankfully the Philstivus tradition allows for several "dress-up" events during the year, some lasting several days each ...


  • Dress Like A Government Worker Day - Jan. 23 - loads of fun dressing in a starched 2-piece suit and wide polka-dot bow-tie. Wing tips complete the look. Watch the puzzled faces of post office and City Hall personnel as they think they know you from somewhere.
  • Harry the Hobo Holiday - Feb. 14-16 - dress in your worst torn and stained clothing, toss a bindle over your shoulder and hit the roads. This 3-day event is full of surprises and sudden arrests, and you'll learn who your REAL friends are when you call for bail money!
  • Mr. Philstivus' Birthday - Mar. 5 - on the day of our illustrious founder's birth we honor him by dressing completely in black. Although this is officially a one-day celebration, some hard-core practitioners have been known to celebrate year-round.
  • Dress Like A Stripper Week - June 12-18 - break out the pasties and g-strings! Make new friends, influence people and show your neighbors you can twerk with the best of 'em! Bonus points for every dollar tucked into your costume.
  • Rapper Emulation Day - Aug. 16 - saggy baggy pants, over-sized football jerseys and do-rags are the sartorial treats of the day! Toss in some bling and you'll be doing the Rap Thing!
  • Make Mine Miami Beach! Day - Oct. 6 - plaid Bermuda shorts, black socks with brown loafers and a white muscle-shirt is your uniform for fun in the sun! Northern dwellers might be a bit chilly, but you can warm up quickly by throwing a mink coat over your shoulders.
 
SifuPhil said:
Thankfully the Philstivus tradition allows for several "dress-up" events during the year, some lasting several days each ...


  • Dress Like A Government Worker Day - Jan. 23 - loads of fun dressing in a starched 2-piece suit and wide polka-dot bow-tie. Wing tips complete the look. Watch the puzzled faces of post office and City Hall personnel as they think they know you from somewhere.
  • Harry the Hobo Holiday - Feb. 14-16 - dress in your worst torn and stained clothing, toss a bindle over your shoulder and hit the roads. This 3-day event is full of surprises and sudden arrests, and you'll learn who your REAL friends are when you call for bail money!
  • Mr. Philstivus' Birthday - Mar. 5 - on the day of our illustrious founder's birth we honor him by dressing completely in black. Although this is officially a one-day celebration, some hard-core practitioners have been known to celebrate year-round.
  • Dress Like A Stripper Week - June 12-18 - break out the pasties and g-strings! Make new friends, influence people and show your neighbors you can twerk with the best of 'em! Bonus points for every dollar tucked into your costume.
  • Rapper Emulation Day - Aug. 16 - saggy baggy pants, over-sized football jerseys and do-rags are the sartorial treats of the day! Toss in some bling and you'll be doing the Rap Thing!
  • Make Mine Miami Beach! Day - Oct. 6 - plaid Bermuda shorts, black socks with brown loafers and a white muscle-shirt is your uniform for fun in the sun! Northern dwellers might be a bit chilly, but you can warm up quickly by throwing a mink coat over your shoulders.
Click to expand...

Did you just write this clever piece? Surely it's been in your archives for years...it's just too funny. My first post of the day to read and what a way to get started! HARRY THE HOBO and STRIPPER WEEK are the only ones that I wouldn't participate in if I were your neighbor. The rest sound down right entertaining!!!! You funny man!
 
I was shocked when I picked up my lil guy yesterday (Fri) morning....schools here were closed. He didn't have one piece of candy from the night before and told me gave it away!!! I bought almost $40 worth for them to give out, plus his friend and dad who joined them bought over another equal amount to add to it. It was ludicrous at how much candy we had on hand. I left to come home just before 8:00 thinking it was almost over, and maybe 1/2 of what I'd bought was gone. There was still tons of it on hand. But they continued to come in such droves, 15 & 20 at a time, and they ran out. Lil Jordan and his friend offered to pass out their candy. Almost made me cry that he had none when he was telling me, but then he told me his dad drove to Rite-Aid and got each boy a BIG box of Russell Stover Chocolates, a quart of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and a 20 pack of gum for both boys for being so willing to share! They ended up getting some of the best treats of all! And I'm still blown away by the droves of kids who were obviously driven from all over the city! I could barely get home for all the cars stopped to let their kids out. It was their first Halloween in this home and next year I'll be totally prepared!
 
Last edited:
Katybug said:
Did you just write this clever piece? Surely it's been in your archives for years...it's just too funny. My first post of the day to read and what a way to get started! HARRY THE HOBO and STRIPPER WEEK are the only ones that I wouldn't participate in if I were your neighbor. The rest sound down right entertaining!!!! You funny man!
Click to expand...


Phil's website is a work of art .... a walk on the wild side. :D..
 
. I love Halloween with all the kids but now Im seeing more and more late teens with no costumes,they walk up to the door,ring the bell then turn around to expose their school backpack to throw the candy in...
Think Ill leave the outside lights off next year.
 
Katybug said:
Did you just write this clever piece? Surely it's been in your archives for years...it's just too funny. My first post of the day to read and what a way to get started! HARRY THE HOBO and STRIPPER WEEK are the only ones that I wouldn't participate in if I were your neighbor. The rest sound down right entertaining!!!! You funny man!
Click to expand...

Boo's Mom said:
Phil's website is a work of art .... a walk on the wild side. :D..
Click to expand...

You ladies are far too kind - :thankyou:

Katy, a version of those holidays, as well as many others, used to be one of the main points of my website. Unfortunately I've let them slide this year, having gone in a different direction content-wise, but one of my New Year's resolutions for 2014 is to bring them back bigger and better.

BM, may I have your permission to use that as a testimonial? :eek:
 
SifuPhil said:
I saw one little girl dressed as a witch around 3:00PM, and one car-load pulling up down the street at 7:30PM, and that was it. Of course, in this neighborhood you're more likely to get caramel-covered crack and weed cookies in your bag.

On second thought, I hope it's not too late to go out ...

Back in the day we never let the kids pick their own; we always handed the bags out TO them. Yeah, part of our ritual was making up bags - during our prime years we made over 300 bags, and most of them were gone at the end of the night. We weren't stingy, either - each bag had a dozen or so treats / toys in it. If we ran out then Dad would break out the rolls of quarters. :D

I didn't give anything out this year, but if I had I think I would have done this:

View attachment 3284
Click to expand...

What a treasure you are. When I read/hear what's really going on in the world, I will be looking for a post from you to make me laugh. Can't even imagine the poor kids' reaction after a bite. And I KNOW you may actually consider doing that! Funny, but very naughty, you are!

Great idea, bagging it, but that gets expensive with the price of candy these days. Very nice and generous gesture on your part, so you've had your day of playing the role of normalcy. It shows in spite of yourself.:D
 
Katybug said:
What a treasure you are. When I read/hear what's really going on in the world, I will be looking for a post from you to make me laugh. Can't even imagine the poor kids' reaction after a bite. And I KNOW you may actually consider doing that! Funny, but very naughty, you are!
Click to expand...

Funny and naughty - always a potent combination!

Actually, for the little interaction I've had with kids in this neighborhood, they just seem like regular kids. It isn't their fault their parents are jerks for the most part. If only I could give those "apples" to the parents ...

Great idea, bagging it, but that gets expensive with the price of candy these days. Very nice and generous gesture on your part, so you've had your day of playing the role of normalcy. It shows in spite of yourself.:D
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah - what used to cost maybe $0.50 a bag at most would today be more like $3-$4 dollars. And we used to get hundreds of kids, so even back then it was an expensive proposition. But I guess we were well-off enough to afford it.

Now if any kids HAD come to the door I would have quickly reached into the bags, grabbed a handful and slammed the door. Tough times call for tough measures.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top