Something for nothing
To the editor:
What is happening with our society today? Everyone wants a reward with no effort!
Last night was Halloween and while I am only 44 years old, I will now sound like a grumpy old man and rant that today’s Halloween was not like the good ole days. I don’t decorate much, but I do tape the cardboard skeleton and ghost to my windows and put out some fake skulls etc. I make an effort to have a healthy supply of “good candy” such as Snickers and Butterfingers for trick-or-treaters.
What I am saying is that I make an effort and of the 100 or so of my neighbors that came out last night almost half did the same. What I mean by that is they actually dressed up in costume prior to knocking on my door, and to those I say thanks. But to those who feel that all they need to do is grab an old plastic shopping bag, come to my house and tell me to give them some free candy I say — MAKE AN EFFORT!
I finally had to tape a sign at my walkway that said NO COSTUME — NO CANDY, and I was cursed at and threatened by both teens and parents for asking so much! How dare I make such a request and refuse to hand over free sweets to someone who looks as if they are on their way home from Wal-mart — and you know who you are!
When I was a kid, if you didn’t want to dress up and participate in the holiday, you stayed home or stayed in the road while everyone else knocked on the door! Obviously if the parent is walking a little child who is dressed up it is understandable. But when a group of five-seven teens walk up, and only three took a few minutes to put on makeup or an outfit, then why reward the others who did nothing to earn a reward? And if you didn’t get candy because you didn’t dress up, don’t start yelling and cursing at the person who is giving out the treat. After all, you can take the money you saved on not purchasing a costume and buy a bag of candy. And one more thing: when it is 11 p.m. and the outside lights are off and a handwritten sign on my door says I am out of candy — I’m not lying, and the two 20-year-olds dressed as, well 20-year-olds, don’t need to knock and double check. Just a tip for next year.
By the way, what is up with our local TV news regarding holidays? WBBH NBC-2 did not even mention Halloween until almost 6 minutes into their 22-minute newscast (if you remove commercials). The whole first segment was about the elections two days away, with no real “new” news to report. I worked in local news here and in Georgia years ago, and there are things the networks and cable news cover and things local news covers. The local TV news is not CNN, Fox, or MSNBC. Local news should be about what is happening in our local lives. Did anyone with children in our community really wake up yesterday with kids rushing in yelling about how Alex Sink or Marco Rubio was up in the polls? No. It was about costumes and candy and a tradition that has been around long before and long after any of our politicians will be in office. As an adult I have been active in politics, and I see a need to report on them. But c’mon — the world has more to offer and our local news producers should understand that. I called the assignment desks and asked if they even knew it was a holiday but their attitude was dismissive. And they wonder why they have low ratings. Maybe someone, say the station general manager, should take his 20-something starter news producers aside and let them know that the local news is to inform the local citizens about local events, and does not simply exist so they can enhance their resume tapes.
Thank you for listening.
Sean Dever
Cape Coral