Let's Talk About Trick or Treating

[Andybev01]

I can put stuff out on my patio only because I don't share it with another unit, but it can only be out for the day of the holiday.

Not bad.

[Rising Dead Man]

I'll repeat what someone on anoher thread said. These people running your nephew's neighborhood sound like a reincarnation of Hitler and his men. Kids being made to take down paper Halloween decorations! Is that a violation of free speech or is there something protecting that?

You are kidding right? If you move into a housing association, which you do willinigly, you do so with an understanding of the bylaws. A housing association has every right to set any bylaws they want, as long as they don't exclude people based on age or racial reasons. If you don't like the bylaws, don't move in originally.

My condo association does not allow people that are not married or relatives to live together. That may seem crazy but when you consider that everyone that owns a unit also owns the building or common areas. People that date are more likely to break up than married people. And sometimes those relationships end badly. We don't need someone with a vendetta doing damage to the property because we all own it. If a marriage breaks up, both parties still own the condo and the building until the divorce is settled, so they are much less likely to do any damage.

I don't know how condo associations work, so I wasn't sure if the paper decoration thing was legal or not.

[Murfreesboro]

There was a big flap around here a few years ago because a HOA (not a condo, but a neighborhood) was objecting strenuously to a homeowner who had erected a flag pole in his front yard, on which he displayed the U.S. flag. I guess some of the association members thought it was tacky to have a flag pole, that it made his home look like a public building. Anyway, that got coverage on the local news, and the HOA backed down.

I live in an older neighborhood that has seen better days. I have a clothes line in my backyard, which I love to use from time to time. It comes in really handy for some things. Friends of mine who live in more up-scale neighborhoods are not allowed to have clothes lines. I am grateful that I don't live in a place like that.

[Pumpkin56]

Back to the original topic

I've had a bit of trouble with TOTing in recent years--there aren't as many kiddos out and about as there were when I was younger. The TOTing around here doesn't have time restrictions and luckily, I don't see any kids out when the sun is still shining. My parents house is like a home base in our family so everyone always congregates there for any and everything. Last year, some strangers showed up at the door on the 30th asking if there were little ones in the family that would like to come to a particular church's trunk or treat the following evening. I happened to be the one who answered the door and I politely said "okay thanks" even though I was thinking "no thanks, the little one in this family will be raising hell in THIS neighborhood tomorrow night". But when I looked at the flier I got a little peeved. The trunk or treat was for a church that wasn't even in the same city! Granted, it was only several miles down the road, but still! I was annoyed that every year I work hard to attract TOTers and these people were crossing city lines and going door to door to poach them away! However, the incident has only inspired me to work harder and get more people in the neighborhood involved to make Halloween grow. It remains to be seen if the effort pays off...

[Pumpkin_Man]

We get kids from other communities where ToT is not permitted, but again, we are under a very strict time limit. I still like handing out the candy, but I wish they would allow ToT into the darker hours.

Mike

[Murfreesboro]

Pumpkin, it sounds as if that church is one of those that is trying to take control of Halloween. They may think they are "rescuing" the kiddos from the dangers of the devil's holiday. There are lots of churches around here that do Trunk or Treat, including ours. I am happy to participate as long as it doesn't fall on Halloween itself, but when Halloween is a Weds (their preferred night for doing it), I don't participate.

[Pumpkin_Man]

A lot of churches are offering "trunk or treat" so the kids would be safe from would-be predators who use the holiday as an oportunity to troll. My church actualy has a Halloween party at the parish hall on the weekend before Halloween, unless Halloween falls on the weekend. Then they have the party at 7:00 in the evening right after ToT is over. I've actualy gone to those parties a couple of times and they do a nice job. The food is pot luck, and I would bring my home baked Corned Beef and bakery fresh rhy bread and a jar of horse raddish sauce. One of our wealthier parishenors would pop for a few extra large pizzas, and a lot of women would bake desert items.

Of course, when Halloween fell on a weekend day, I didn't go to the parish party because the actual day calls for it's own traditions.

Mike

[ScarecrowJack]

We don't get a lot of kids in my neighborhood, but we get some. I usually go through about 3 bags of candy, give-or-take. I do sometimes see the same kids twice, but I still give them something. I live up on a hill, so if they trudged up the steps, I'll give them something. The ones without costumes annoy me though.

ToT used be the Sunday before Halloween from 5-7. The last few years it's been the Saturday before. Unfortunately, that's the night I have my Halloween party so for the last few years I had a friend of mine hand out candy while finished preparing for the party.

In the years I've handed out the candy I would dress up in a werewolf costume to hand out candy. The first year I did nobody was coming up until I shifted position. Then I heard someone yell, "That's not a decoration, it's a person." And then I was swamped.

One year I was sitting in my costume and this group of 3 adults and maybe 5 kids came by. This kids were younger ones. They gamely climbed the steps to get the candy when one of the adults said, "Hey, what if that's not a costume? What if that's a real werewolf and they're just using candy to lure you up there and take you into the woods?" I should mention, my house is on a wooded lot w/a lot of trees. The kids just froze and looked at me like deer in headlights. Then the guy said, "Naw, that's just someone in a mask, go ahead and get the candy." The kids gingerly walked up the rest of the way and got their candy. I was thinking, "Buddy, if they wake you up in the middle of the night b/c the werewolf is coming to get them do not blame me."

[Tee]

Omg...I could never live in one of those associations. We don't get many trick or treaters here (we're the last actual house on the block, tucked between a clinic and a couple condos), but we still do the yard all up with giant spiders and tiki torches and ghosts in the trees. One of these days, we might even attract some kids from the next block up =P

I guess, if you agree to bylaws when you move in, you're kind of stuck. But it's still really sad how so many people feel it's their place to determine how other people live.

[Pumpkin_Man]

I couldn't imagine Halloween without Trick or Treat. Speaking of costumes, my customary vampire teeth have scared a few little ones, until I pull them out. They they start to laugh.

Mike

[VanHelsingStandIn]

Condo by laws and home owner association covets are legal in all states. It's just a fact of life. You are shown them before you purchase/lease your place and you sign off and or initial them too. I agree its Orwellian for most of this. I've seen some places that forbid you from flying the US flag, and it is totally legal. I also believe that many of these covets/rules are set up by small minded people who just love being in a position of power and wants to play God.

A few years back I pulled over a car that was weaving all over the road. The guy was so drunk he couldn't even complete a sobriety test. But, he kept telling me how he was the president of some home owners association. Made it sound like he was the mayor of a city or something. I told him then he of all people should know not to drink and drive. So off he went to the clink.

When he went before the judge he tried blowing his horn again and the judge told him to shut it. He said he didn't have to because he was president of this home owners association.

He was so good at running his mouth, he was hit with contempt of court charges, a fine that was the maximum allowed and his license was revoked for an entire year. He also had to pay court costs and attend mandatory drivers education and drunk driving re-hab.

At first he said he wouldn't do it, but in the end he realized he was only digging a deeper hole.

Oh! One more thing. He was "impeached" as the home owner association president!

[NeverMore]

Great story. I love hearing about people like that getting their just rewards.

[Pumpkin_Man]

I love it, VanHelsing. He probably got "impeached" because the residents fo that condo complex probably found him equaly insufferable. Condo or Town Home Assoiations are the main reason why I would rather have my apendix taken out then live in one of them. The other reason is that I just don't like newer houses. I much prefer an antique house. For most people, the house of their dreams is a brand new building, constructed to their particular likes. For me my dream house would be one of those 200 or even 300 year old mansions on the East Coast. I would love to live in a 1600s vintage or 1700s vintage house in Salem Mass. I'll have to win the Lotto before I can ever realize that dream, or Studio O'Brien Photography will have to become a multi million dollar a year corporation, but none the less, that's my dream home. Not a condominium or a town home in some gated community with some small minded egomaniac breathing down my neck everytime I wash my motorcycle.

Mike