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It’s become something of a cliché to hear members of my generation go on about how much Halloween has changed since we were kids. The main difference, we always seem to say, is how much freedom we were allowed on that one night of the year when mischief-making and self-disguise were not only approved but actually encouraged. In my childhood Halloween lasted all day, beginning with a costumed parade from our elementary school down the neighborhood streets. Our mothers – almost all of whom were homemakers, and therefore at home every day – sat on their porches, applauding as we streamed by. My mother was in show business in her youth, and she devoted all of her costuming skills into my yearly Halloween outfits. One year she outdid herself by dressing me up as The Solar System – with my face as the sun and several planets held in orbit around me by wire coat hangers. It was very impressive, if somewhat impractical to go around trick or treating in. The climax of the holiday was, of course |