when I grew up in the 50's/early 60's...
[graduated 8th grade in 1962...]
that was what a birthday party was supposed to look like...
although in the reality of the times...
[black & white photography...]
they more often looked like this...
I went to a country school...
that just happened to be built next door to our ranch...
["Boomer", don't'cha know...]
and the custom was to have a monthly classroom party...
on the theme of whatever holiday was biggest that month...
and to honor the month's birthday kids...
in my class, everybody's birthday was in the summer...
or in the winter/spring semester...
so for the first several years of my school life...
I got to have my birthday celebrating Halloween...
now Halloween is very different if you live in the country...
NO trick or treating...unless you went into town...
[which ALL the cool kids, who were not my friends, did...
hence ...making them even cooler...]
so the Community Club [think PTA...]
always had a Halloween Carnival on Halloween night...
if it was on a school day, we wore our costumes to school...
working ourselves into a frenzy...
and then, went nuts at the carnival...
[the really cool kids would come before or after trick or treating...
and eat their stash in front of the rest of us...]
so they were the only ones...
who got sick from the candy...
we didn't get a lot of candy...
but could win candy apples...
or popcorn balls...or cookies...or candy...
and you didn't have to have...
a "bomb-sniffing dog" test it first...
Ah..the "good ol' days..."
it really was an innocent time...
so, anyway...back to me...
[and that's the whole point...]
I never had friends...
so I never had the big birthday bash...
that wins you elementary school popularity...
ergo, I wasn't invited to any either...
[childhood can be a vicious circle...]
so due to my lack of popularity...
and complete frenzy with which children embrace Halloween...
my "shared" birthdays with Halloween...
were completely forgettable...
from the chocolate cupcakes that ALWAYS had candy corn on them...
[I HATE it...it's too sweet...]
to the liberties they took...
with the lyrics for "Happy Birthday"...
[Happy Birthday to you...
you belong in a zoo...
you look like a monkey...
and smell like one too...
and it often was worse...]
or forgetting it was my birthday...
[yeah, my mom baked cupcakes EVERY month...]
I always felt slighted...ignored...
completely unappreciated...
add that to being unpopular anyway...
and do you wonder that I don't think much of Halloween...?
maybe that's where the "bah,humbug" attitude began...
the last birthday celebration I had...
was a surprise party on my 21st...
which was after a symphony rehearsal...
and I don't remember it...[21st... guess why...]
I've also spent a number of birthdays...
at football games, parades or band reviews...
including 2 49er halftime shows...
[mid-sixties when they were BAD...]
and a BUNCH of rehearsals...
and after this one...
I may stop counting...
trick or treat...?
Bah, Humbug !
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