I used to really enjoy All Hallow's Eve. In fact, as soon as I started getting sick from eating too much candy corn and running out of costume ideas, the holiday lost a lot of its earlier appeal.
That is, until I met the children from the neighborhood. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ohio City (or the near west side of Cleveland), it is interesting to note that a good portion of residents and their families are refugees from countries like Liberia, Kenya and other African/European nations. Thankfully, we have folks like Bill Merriman and Jim Sleck that work tirelessly to make certain that these families most basic needs are satisfied.
I would like to believe that I try to satisfy their need for humor and play whenever I see some of my former neighborhood kids (some now adolescents) either at St. Pat's Church on Sundays or hanging out in the backyards of the Arrupe Neighborhood House. For two years in a row, on October 31st, I looked forward to escorting and supervising these youngsters--all dressed up in mostly hand-me-down costumes and stuffing their faces with hot dogs & all the sweets you could dream of. Unfortunately, time and circumstance have prevented me from continuing to participate in this JVC tradition, but I do know that those kids formed some lasting memories those crisp Autumn nights.
Thank you Denise Rolland, among others, for helping restore a little bit of that innocence into one the spookiest nights of the year.
No comments:
Post a Comment