Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

My husband asks me the other day if this weekend was when daylight saving time ended. I said no that would be next week.

He gives me a look, nods to the darkness outside at 7 a.m. and says “there are kids standing outside in the dark waiting for the bus already.”

“I know,” I said. But I remind him that several years ago, some students, I believe from Gillette, approached Sen. Mike Enzi about extending daylight saving time so that children could trick-or-treat while it was still light out, rather in the dark.

Wait, what? I thought that was the whole point of trick-or-treating — waiting until dark.

But, alas, the time that many of us curse was extended and thus children in the morning wait in the dark for their school bus, so others on Halloween can trick-or-treat while it’s light out. I would try and find the logic there, but after all we’re dealing with acts of Congress and they usually defy logic.

I asked the question in the office, with as many parties, trunk-or-treating and other events where children get candy, do children really go door-to-door trick-or-treating anymore. I got a resounding yes. It just means more candy.

Thus the logic of the parties and trunk-or-treating, which initially, was to provide a safe environment for children to get candy, defeats the person if children still go door-to-door. I know some parents probably take their children to houses of people they know. Some parents check the candy, but I’m guessing there are still many children going door-to-door alone and eating candy along the way.

Speaking of candy, what kind of candy do you get. Some survey showed Wyoming’s favorite candy was candy corn. Really? What’s up with that. I like candy corn but it’s never been a favorite. Give me something with chocolate, but no coconut please.

My husband’s favorite is Reese’s. He wondered if people are allowed to give out Reese’s anymore because of the peanut butter and peanut allergies. Let’s hope children with allergies are smart enough not to eat candy they are unsure about.

Living outside of town we don’t get any trick-or-treaters, but when we did in Basin and Lovell I used to buy the type of candy I liked, so if there were leftovers they would not go to waste.

And now, since I don’t have to purchase candy for trick-or-treaters, I just wait until after Halloween and buy my favorite on sale. I’ll be looking Snickers, Three Musketeers, M&Ms, Skittles, Starbursts, KitKats …. Yes, I’m still a child with a sweet tooth.

Happy Halloween, and oh yes, next week don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour.