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Nation does Halloween despite fears
11/01/2001
By ERIN McCLAM ATLANTA — Roman Rheingans, a 12-year-old boy disguised in a black prince's
robe and plastic crown, was the voice of reason this Halloween on Dixie Avenue.
His classmates worried that terrorists might time another strike in America
for the ghoulish holiday. So in addition to trick-or-treating in his Atlanta
neighborhood, Roman spent the day calming their fears. ``My friends are scared,'' the boy said, suiting up before he gathered mounds
of candy Wednesday night. ``They're looking up to the sky, expecting to see some
giant jumbo jet coming down to the ground.'' It could have been any child, any neighborhood, on a Halloween night played
out in the shadow of terrorism. The Sept. 11 attacks and lingering threat of
anthrax left the nation struggling to redefine a children's holiday that makes
light of fear. Extra deputies patrolled the streets, and police promised harsh punishment
for pranksters. Mothers and fathers combed through bags of candy with extra
care. Some parents kept their children home altogether. ``There's a lot of copycat stuff out there,'' said Glenda Everett of Albany,
N.Y., whose 5- and 11-year-old girls gave up the October ritual in favor of a
quiet Halloween party. ``I don't want to take a chance with my children.'' In New York City, a few blocks away from the ruins of the World Trade Center,
one couple and their 4-year-old daughter, Tova, honored rescue workers by
dressing as a trio of firefighters. ``It was her idea,'' said the girl's mother, Jennifer Purdy. ``We started
making wishes at nighttime. One of her wishes was to be a firegirl. And she
wishes that the World Trade Center would be built again.'' In the Atlanta neighborhood of Inman Park, Roman and his friends
trick-or-treated at houses where devilishly grinning jack-o-lanterns glowed in
front of solemnly draped American flags. For the boy, who says Halloween is ``only bested by Christmas'' on his list
of favorite holidays, the October ritual helped to restore a sense of normalcy.
``It does seem like there's a lot of people who are jittery,'' he said. ``But
we should go on with our lives. You might as well be happy, with a smile on your
face and a bag of candy.'' Down the street, two bulging bowls of sweets awaited at the home of Leigh
Anne Godfrey, who said Sept. 11 has helped her appreciate her three children and
special occasions like Halloween — and made her more careful. ``We're only going to neighborhoods that we know,'' she said. ``We can always
skip a house, and go to one where we feel more comfortable.'' The country, forced to reconcile the good-natured scares of a typical
Halloween with the still-new fear of post-Sept. 11 life, mixed its celebration
with caution. In Boston, Margarita Lebron chose to take her daughter and grandchildren to a
Halloween party instead of trick-or-treating through the neighborhood.
``There's a lot of crazy people out there and you don't know what they're
capable of doing, especially when everyone is dressed up and you don't know who
they are,'' she said. Malls throughout the country asked their customers not to wear masks, and
some banned toy weapons for the day. Off-duty police officers and firefighters
from metro Minneapolis gave out candy at the Mall of America. Some places, mindful of the growing fear over anthrax, even ditched candy,
staple food of the holiday. A Maryland mall passed out trinkets instead, and
offered pumpkin painting and storytelling. Instead of sweets, Kristin Wyzik of Joplin, Mo., handed out homemade cards.
They told trick-or-treaters Wyzik had donated the $10 she would have spent on
candy to a relief fund dedicated to children of Sept. 11 attack victims.
Patriotism was a popular theme on a Halloween that looked in many communities
like the Fourth of July. At Western Costume Co. in Los Angeles, last-minute
shoppers seeking pro-America outfits were turned away. ``Anything we had in our warehouse that was red, white and blue is gone,''
company president Eddie Marks said. ``Anything Uncle Sam is sold out.'' Gov. Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, who had discouraged trick-or-treating this
year, found himself defending his name against parents who accused him of
canceling Halloween. ``What we said is that because law enforcement is being so incredibly taxed
working every time somebody spills a Pixy Stix and thinks they've got anthrax,
that we simply didn't have the law enforcement personnel to go and look at every
sack of candy in Arkansas,'' the governor said. In rural Taneytown, Md., population 5,200, an unofficial 20-year ban on
Halloween festivities was lifted. ``Kids need some old-fashioned fun,'' said Naomi Lowenthal, the city's
recreation director, who led the revival effort and urged parents to give candy
to the town's children again. ``Especially this year.'' On the Net: National Safe Kids Campaign: http://www.safekids.org
Associated Press Writer