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| Mom sewed these garments |
It was Murray and me. Neale had not yet arrived. I was ten and Murray was five. Household money was not spent on
frivolity such as costumes. Halloween was what we kids made it. We were
originals. We used cardboard boxes, fabrics, watercolour paint. That's the best
that could be said. Families around our home were as poor as we were. They drop
donuts and homemade stuff in our bags. We wanted candy, expensive candy. This
year we asked Dad to drive us a few blocks, first to the streets around Montebello
Park and then to the Glenridge area, posh homes, gleaming luxury cars. Dad
dropped us off and parked and waited for us. We rang doorbells and at each home
a stylishly dressed man or women greeted us, invited us inside, looked us over,
and sometimes asked us if we could sing. Could we sing? We'd confidently answer
"sure." What songs did we know? We were Sunday School kids. I would
harmonize a tenor with Murray's little boy soprano. "Jesus loves me this I
know, for the Bible tells me so…." We'd sing the entire song and the
people would applaud, stunned by the pure sound. They loaded our bags with
great Halloween gifts. Within a few blocks we had more than we could carry and
we'd ask Dad to take us home.
