How old is too old?
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
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I was 14 years old, and I stood on the front stoop of a redbrick townhouse holding a brown paper bag decorated with orange pumpkins and green Frankenstein monster heads. The polyester leggings of my Batman costume were riding up the back of my legs. My face was sweaty and irritated, hidden behind a cheap plastic mask.
As the door began to open, I tried to scrunch down to the height of the other kids, and I yelped out the highest pitch trick-or-treat I could muster. Right as Mrs. Hollowood was about to drop into my bag one of the king-size Snickers bars that made her famous with the children of my Pittsburgh suburb, she said some of the harshest words a candy-loving child ever has to hear. “You’re too old for trick-or-treating.”
That night, after I got denied a few more times, I came to the tough conclusion that I had outgrown my right to canvas my neighborhood for treats on Halloween. I balled up my costume and threw it in the trash, forever limited to the candy that my parents were handing out. As I look back, I feel like I was robbed. Is 14 really too old? I decided to ask around.
Jill Bartosz, a secretary in College Advancement, feels that I was a little past my prime.
“I believe that 13 is too old to go trick-or-treating,” Bartosz said. “In my neighborhood, the kids that are ‘older’ seem to be rude and out for trouble. They frequently feel the need to entertain themselves throughout the evening by smashing pumpkins, throwing candy around, damaging Halloween decor, etc.”
According to an article on UPI.com, the mayor of Belleview, Illinois, Mark Eckert, agrees with this notion, so much in fact that he signed an ordinance last Halloween prohibiting teenagers above the eighth grade from trick-or-treating in the community. The ordinance was implemented after there were complaints from people who were scared that older kids would destroy their property.
Bookstore manager Lawrence LaJoie disagrees and believes that the cutoff age for would-be trick-or-treaters should be a little higher, just as long as they are in the spirit of things.
“As long as the kid is making an effort in dressing up for treating and not just showing up in a hoodie and jeans with a Safeway bag, treating should be fine throughout high school. It’s a kid’s holiday,” LaJoie said.
In a poll conducted by The Washington Post, 37 percent of those asked feel that 14 should be the cutoff age, which means that, according to them, I still had one year of party-sized peanut butter cups before I had to hang up the old candy sack. Twelve percent of those polled feel that there should be no age limit.
Associated Dean of Student Development Lynne Cox agrees with this minority.
“I think the ‘treating’ part of Halloween is a positive community experience, and I welcome high school students and adults in costume at my house, so long as they show good manners. I love to see adults in costume,” said Cox.
That next Halloween, I forced myself to stay home and help my mother hand out the candy. I was painstaking about my candy distribution, only one bite-size peppermint patty per bag – no exceptions. Near the end of the night, as the porch lights around the neighborhood began to shut off, there was one more visitor to our door. I could tell by the length of his strides and the laziness of his werewolf costume the kid was at least 15 years old.
“Trick or treat,” he said.
“You’re too old,” I declared with a grin.
The rest of the Pepperment Patties were mine.
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