Written by Zachary Dalton
As a kid, some of the best times were spent during a crisp autumn evening running around from house to house and demanding candy from the hard-working adults as the “ooh” and “ahh” over your costume. A junior fondly remembers her times in upstate New York being just like that. Her fondness quickly turns sour as she states, “it’s not like that anymore.” She begins by telling Brackety-Ack a story from her freshman year here on campus. Since it was her first Halloween in Virginia, she was excited to see how the campus community celebrated. The fateful night came, and she eagerly put on her homemade Lilo costume from Disney’s Lilo and Stitch. She grabbed an extra pillowcase and took to the streets.
“I was determined to get candy from some house,” she says, “any house, but I knew exactly which house to go to first.”
She walked to the end of Market Street to the big house with the large Roanoke College flag: The President’s House. She marched up to the door and rang the doorbell and was greeted by no-one. She frowned and rang the doorbell again. Nothing.
“I couldn’t believe it,” she declares, “no-one was home! Who isn’t home on Halloween?”
After walking away from the house, the junior rang a few other doorbell’s and was greeted by a multitude of “aren’t you a bit old for trick-or-treating,” or “sorry I’m saving the candy for kids.” She didn’t let that break her stride though and she continued to have a fun Halloweekend at the college. The junior requested that I include a message for her. She wanted to bring attention to the Blue Pumpkin Bucket this Halloween. A blue pumpkin bucket helps signify a person with autism, but still wants to partake in the Halloween festivities. Adults with autism who still want to trick-or-treat could have a blue bucket and will help prevent comments like “aren’t you a little old…” and such. Along with that a child with a blue bucket can convey that they’re nonverbal. One more thing, don’t be afraid to go out and trick-or-treat as an adult too, there’s no rule against it and if you’re with a group and having fun that’s really what it is all about. Plus, free candy is free candy.
