A tricky treat

Advice from Mom
By Rita Lessard

I suppose by now the kids who were out trick or treating have slowly come down from their sugar high. Most people enjoy this holiday because it gives them time to act silly by dressing up in their favourite costumes and partying; sometimes we need an excuse to do that.
My family always enjoyed this occasion to get candy and also to give out the goodies. I recall the time when I was a teenager that, because I was older, I volunteered to take my neighbours’ daughter Suzie out. My older sister stayed home and she would hand out the stuff. Before I left the house, she told me to make sure that I stopped in to our house before I dropped Suzie of because she would save some favours for us. So, after an hour or so, Suzie got a little tired and we quit. But then I remembered my sister telling me she would save us something, so we stopped by and got something from my house.
When we got to Suzie’s house, her mother said, “Rita, why don’t you stay a while and you can sort through the bags and Suzie can share some of the stuff with you.” I agreed to do so, and although Suzie’s not to keen on the idea, she eventually agrees. I have a bit of stuff in my bag that some of my friends gave me, so I’m really not that interested in taking too much and I tell Suzie this, so she says “Okay.”
I’m going through her stuff and I come across a piece of candy I think is fudge, so I say to Suzie, “Oh wow, I would really like to have that fudge. What do you say?” She says, “I don’t think so. I want it.”
I reluctantly let her have it and she decides she’s going to eat it right away while I’m sitting there drooling. She puts it in her mouth and then right away spits it out and yells, “Ew! That’s gross!” So I pick it up and look a little closer. It’s not fudge after all, but a piece of liver that’s nicely wrapped in cellophane.
I knew right away where the liver came from, considering my family had liver for supper that night. As soon as I get home, my sister knows the gig is up just by the look on my face and the evidence in my hand. I’m calling her an ugly witch, which was appropriate for the occasion, and I tell her that her trick backfired because Suzie ended up getting her so-called treat. She was a bit remorseful, but she was still laughing and cackling like the witch she was and she headed off to bed singing Trick or Treat! I never did pay her back.

Birthday greetings
Happy birthday to our son Bill (Nov. 15) and our granddaughter Katie (Nov. 22)!