Growing up in the country with miles between houses, trick-or-treating by foot was not really feasible (nor was biking in a costume).  Instead, my Dad would drive my younger brother and I along the country roads making as many stops as he could and waiting in the car as we knocked on doors and worked our magic. We would travel around 3 different lakes before retiring back at home to spill our pillowcases full of candy (yes, pillowcases!).  My brother, clever as a fox, always ended up with more loot than me. He figured out that if he left his pillowcase in the car and went to the door with a tiny Jack-o-latern pail (which he usually left empty or with one or two feeble candies) it would look pathetic next to my massive and bursting-full pillowcase and the neighbors would naturally take pity on him and give him twice the amount of candy.  It worked like a charm. Back in the car, he would dump his loot into his pillowcase and start all over again with an empty bucket at the next house.

All I could do was admire the kid’s ingenuity (although I really should have been asking for a cut of the spoils since his success depended on my compliance – I was half the act). …

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