Halloween, Boba Fett and Smarties

It's Day 5 of my #30DayWritingChallenge, but more importantly ... Happy Halloween! Welcome to the one day each year we are allowed to take candy from strangers.

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Not because I get dressed up (anymore) or because of the candy. I actually lost my sweet tooth years ago. I enjoy Halloween because of the creative costumes people come up with. Riding the subway today will be like the runways of Fashion Week, but way more fun.

Some of my fondest childhood memories are from this day. More so than any other holiday growing up.

I was raised in the Mitchell Houses (that’s my building behind the church) in the South Bronx. It wasn't the most kid-friendly environment, but on this one day, at least, we could be assured of a fun time.

It was (and sadly still is) a poor community, so expensive costumes were out of the question. Some years, I used my mom’s makeup to paint a variety of designs on my face. My all-time favorite costume, however, and the one I still get excited thinking about, was Boba Fett from the Empire Strikes Back. All these years later, it is still the first and happiest memory I have when I think about Halloween.

Like all good late 1970s/early ‘80s costumes, it came in a square box with a clear cover. It had all the tell-tale signs of a costume from that era: a plastic front that you’d tie around your waist and neck like an apron; a plastic mask with two holes under the nose that were so small you could barely breathe; and the ever-dangerous rubber band stapled to the side of the mask to keep it in place. It was slightly safer than these.

Inevitably, one of two things would happen with that rubber band – it would dig into your skin as the night wore on or it would snap and leave a lovely welt on the side of your face. Often, both happened. But it was STILL great!

After some in-building trick-or-treating, it was off to collect sweets from all the bodegas and other local businesses in my 'hood. This is undoubtedly where my love of Smarties derives.

Seeing other kids and families walking around, smiling and loading up on sugar made for such wonderful distractions from our reality. For one night, at least, it felt like we were living in a different neighborhood. It didn’t matter how little money you had, there was always something around the house that you could use. It was a holiday every kid could participate in.

So if you see any Boba Fetts walking around today, please give them some extra Smarties for me. Have a joyous and safe Halloween!