Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone for their thoughts and stories on my previous post ‘TRUTH UNCOVERED: Do Coronado Residents Discriminate on Halloween?’. My goal was to engage others by making us think about our actions and I truly love that all of you were honest, mostly respectful of others, and wanted to make the holiday about the kids. I loved reading them all. In fact, even Mrs. Bey, an English teacher at Coronado High School, wanted her students’ thoughts on the subject seen here in her blog.
Now, for the TRUTH. My wife and I roamed Orange Ave. as vampires and were overwhelmed with the joy we saw. We saw 1 year old Supermen, reindeer dogs, many many morphsuited teens, and parents who were fully decked out in chicken costumes. We saw hundreds of children roaming the streets who collected their candy in pillowcases, milk cartons, and radio flyers. We couldn’t help but smile the whole time we were out (of course that helped show off our vampire teeth).
What We Saw:
(1) Kids of all ages, lining up, saying ‘Trick or Treat’, ‘Thank You’, or simply smiling, to collect their candy booty.
(2) Adults handing out candy with laughter, despite language differences, repeat customers, or the hit and run teenagers.
(3) A community that brought happiness to residents AND non-residents; a clear sign that Coronado likes to share.
(4) Some garbage that was left on benches and the street despite the proximity of garbage cans.
I also had a chance to ask a few people where they came from…and a few responded. One lady and her witchy daughter were from San Ysidro. “This is our second year here. Our friends told us about Halloween here.” I asked the sweet little witch why she liked it here and she said, “People give nice candy here and give us a lot more than at home.”
And so there’s the truth. Despite our own decisions on candy distribution behavior on this holiday, we are trumped by the pure joy that comes from dressing up as superheroes and collecting candy. It truly is about the kids.
Popular costume this year.
One of my favorites on Orange Ave.
On one corner of Orange Ave.
Happy Halloween from us!
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN: Please share your Halloween experiences as well as pictures and videos (especially from the festive street of Margarita).
Akshay facilitates workshops on leadership, communication, and teamwork for adults and children with Ziksana Consulting. Read his Behavior Blotter for more on his work and his observations. If you have any ideas for stories, please contact Akshay at [email protected]
