Memories of Halloweens Past: The Great Candy Exchange

“Halloween Cat”    9” x 12”   Pastel   $100   © Sharon Lewis

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My 5 brothers and sisters and I had trick or treating down to a science.

We knew who were the nicest and most generous neighbors when it came to candy. These were the adults that never gave you anything remotely healthy, like an apple. No, they would hand out huge (to our eyes) fistfuls of candy. Given that our mother rarely allowed us to have candy we thought we’d died and gone to heaven! When we returned to the house, we dumped our now bulging sacks of candy on the floor and the great candy exchange was open for business. Thus ensued some of the most fierce trading you have ever seen! “I’ll trade you 2 Baby Ruths for that Reeses peanut butter cup,”  one of us would shout. Or, “I’ll give you 3 packs of gum for that Hershey’s bar.” This usually went on for at least 20 minutes or until we were all convinced that no more productive trades were going to take place. The seriousness and skill with which we conducted this trading makes me wonder why none of us later considered a career on the NY Stock Exchange.

Ahhh…the good old days…Wait, you’ve got an Almond Joy? I’ll trade you that for 2 Snickers bars! 

Today’s painting is from my friend Karen’s photo of her cat. She has 6 or 7 cats now (but who’s counting?). She has such a big heart that she has ended up providing homes for many a sad and hungry stray. All of her cats are beautiful, and are now healthy thanks to her good care. Although black cats are more often associated with Halloween I thought the coloring of this one just seemed to match the colors I associate with this holiday. Happy Halloween!