I had a trick played on me Monday night.  

I bought two large bags of candy and a smaller one and prepared for an invasion of trick-or-treaters for Halloween.  

I had on my Halloween movie T-shirt featuring Michael Myers with the saying “Everyone is entitled to one good scare.”  

I had my porch light on. I was ready.  

Shortly before the sky was dark, I had three groups drop by, probably a total of a dozen kids. I was already beginning to worry if I had enough of the most expensive candy in the history of Halloween.  

I need not have bothered. Those were the only trick-or-treaters to visit.  

I was surprised because in the past my mother and/or my daughter had been at the door handing out candy. No matter how much we bought we always ran out.  

This year my mother was caring for my ailing father and my daughter was hosting a pizza party in Nashville. I was kind of excited about greeting trick-or-treaters by myself for the first time. 

What a disappointment it was for me. Thank goodness, I didn’t waste my time and carve a jack-o-lantern.

Later in the evening as I ate Mexican food, my go-to dinner on Halloween. For the umpteenth time I watched actor Donald Pleasence, playing Dr. Samuel Loomis, warn the sheriff of Haddonfield, Illinois “death has come to his little town”.  

I contemplated the lack of kids in search of candy.  

First, congregations are offering more opportunities for children to trick-or-treat within the confines and safety of the church grounds.  

My church held a “Trunk-or-Treat" event the night before Halloween. Saturday night there was a party on the square offering kids a chance to celebrate. In addition, it was Monday, a school night.  

All of those reasons were valid for me as I rationalized the non-events of the evening.  

I live on a busy street. Sometimes it is too busy. I did a quick check around the area and only one other house had a porch light on.  

Maybe the prospect of only making a stop or two prompted parents to search for more encouraging areas for treat. I just hope this is not the indication of another tradition being trampled by progress.  

I admit I didn’t really enjoy the trick-or-treat process as a kid. The masks were hard to breathe through and they had a unique plastic smell.  

As a child I would end each Halloween night at a neighbor’s house where there were all kinds of cookies, cakes, candy and assorted other snacks. As soon I arrived, my mask was off for the rest of the night.  

This was just another reminder to me how times have changed.  

Maybe the cartoonist Charles Schulz had it right. We should all be like Linus find “the most sincere” pumpkin patch and wait for “The Great Pumpkin” to arrive.