Sugar Daddy Upgrade

I grew up in the perfect neighborhood as a kid. The entrance was down a long road you only traveled if you lived in the development, so the idea of being told as a kid, "Go outside and just be home by dark" was the norm. Flashlight tag, sharks n' minnows at the neighborhood pool, riding bikes everywhere, kickball using mailboxes for bases - it was what we did. The circular neighborhood with cul de sac streets was a dream come true for Halloween. Leave the buckets and bags at home, we were rolling with pillow cases. I don't think for one second we were the only group of kids doing big things, but man did we think we were cool.

As you can see pictured to the left, the Hennessey and Eikenberg kids were probably anything but. However, every year my best friend Whitney and I would join forces and hit up street after street looking for the best candy and the "best deals". There would be certain hot shots giving out King Size candy bars, and the couple next door always let you choose between an ice cream cone or 6 Oreo cookies. And you have to love the lone bowl with a sign, "Please only take 1 piece of candy; we are watching". Yea right. What do you think, we were born yesterday? Jackpot. If we had a "miss" we would save that candy, knowing we would put it to good use. Our siblings, their friends, and the two of us would reconvene and host a large poker tournament, playing purely with candy. All in hopes to make the best trades. My mother could never believe we would actually throw a Heath bar into "the pot". My hot trades - Sugar Daddy's for Twix. Sugar Daddy's must have been on sale year after year in my hometown because they'd always be everywhere. Drove me nuts!

My dad would always "check in" for the 3 Musketeers, "Lace, let me make sure it's not poisoned". Very clever, but I wasn't buying it - I'd throw him a bar or two.

Every Halloween I think about the glory days and just hope that wherever I am, the young trick-or-treaters are using their candy to their advantage. If nothing else, gearing up for an exciting trip to Vegas one day. Practice makes perfect.

Hopefully next week Jimmy Kimmel will ask parents to join in yet again, and continue to make their kids feel terrible....makes me laugh every year. (Bros at 2:49 are my favorite)