Look! on the skin
The symbol of what lies within.
Now turn red to tempt Snow White
To make her hungry for a bite...

--the Wicked Queen, Walt Disney's Snow White, 1937

There's nothing like a fresh fall apple. Crisp, juicy, sweet or tart, whatever your preference. Think of pick-your-own orchards, fresh apple pie, baked apples, candy apples, caramel apples, apple bobbing at Hallowe'en, Mrs. Prindable's chocolate-covered apples at Thanksgiving and Christmas...

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When I was in grade school, regardless of whether our Trick-or-Treat costumes were home-made or store-bought, whether we wore masks or make-up, our huge paper loot bags were accompanied by small orange milk cartons stamped with information from UNICEF -- The United Nations Children's Fund. Printed on the cartons were examples of what a small donation might do for a child in a third-world country -- a nickel, for example, might provide a child with a pencil and notebook for school; a dollar might vaccinate him against smallpox or polio; five dollars could get his town clean water. The following school day, our teachers would collect the milk containers. The local PTA would count up the money and submit the school's UNICEF donation for that year.

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The funniest part of Charlie's Edward Scissorhands costume was watching him struggle to grab treats out of candy bowls with his useless scissor hands while trick-or-treating. It was like watching a child use chopsticks. Eventually he had to ask the homeowner to just drop it in his bag for him.

Some called this cruel. Especially when he dropped a Kit-Kat on a neighbor's front porch and then clawed away at it unsuccessfully for 45 seconds like a crab while we watched and giggled from the sidewalk.

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iStock Photo

Olivia is planning on going trick-or-treating tonight. She's 13, so a bit old to be doing it, but she's using her little sister as an excuse. Who am I to knock that? I did the same thing all the way thru high school - hey, someone had to take my sister out. My parents were more than happy to let me do it.
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