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THE FULL MOON
October 1987
Features
Editorial Briefs
By MARIEL BAUCOM and BETH NEEL
Remember when early October rolled around and you made plans for your
Halloween costume? You and Mom worked on it for days. When Halloween finally
came you proudly marched up those steps of the school building showing off your
pride and joy. During school you could hardly wait to get home and carve the jack-o-
lantern and then get ready for trick-or-treating. That night after the jack-o-lantern
had been carefully placed on the front steps and you were once again donned in your
costume, you eagerly left on your annual fantasy trip around the block, holding
Dad’s hand, and leaving Mom to tend to the other neighborhood trick-or-treaters.
You went from one door step to the next carrying your orange plastic pumpkin or
plastic bag in one hand and using the other hand to fix your costume that seemed to
be coming unpinned or tearing. With flashlight in hand. Dad led the way around the
block until you had made the whole round trip and were back at your own house. A
little weary from the trip, you trudged in the house, took off your mask, and dumped
out all your goodies on the floor. You marveled at the candy that was all for your
eating. Mom quickly told you you could only have several pieces tonight, for you
would get sick if you ate it all now. You ate a few pieces and then, tired from all the
excitement, got undressed and crawled in bed, dreaming of the pleasant evening
you had spent with Mom and Dad. Nice story, right? For kids these days, I doubt it
quite goes this way. Halloween is no longer the nice parent/child event that it used to
be. In most neighborhwds now the houses that are lit are scarce. Occupants clear
out of the house to avoid the bother of this whole “trick-or-treating hassle.” Many
make plans so they specifically won’t be at home that night. Others just turn off all
their lights on the front side of the house to make it appear that no one is home.
With the scare of candy being poisoned, kids and their parents now must be very
careful that all the candy they have is safe before they eat it. Some hospitals even x-
ray candy for kids in order to find the razor blades and cyanide that sick-minded
adults and not-so-funny teens have slyly placed in the candy. This and other pranks
take away even more of the fun and excitement of the holiday. Why can’t people just
cut out the harmful pranks on this kiddy hey-day? And what’s the big deal? Is it so
much trouble to buy a few bags of candy and let the neighborhood kids visit you?
Why not give kids today the same chance to have the fun that we had on Halloween?
* * *
Senior Year. A year of college applications, preparing for graduation, many
good-times, and, for the class of ’88, final exams!
Excuse me if I sound a little upset, but what will it benefit us to have to take final
exams? The argument is the usual one: “Seniors get lazy and don’t work!” Do the
members of the School Board actually believe that making seniors take exams will
threaten them into studying more? I think not.
Besides the “study” argument, what about tradition and “senior privilege?”
Back in the good ’ole days, seniors didn’t take finals just because it was their priv
ilege as seniors. This exemption was an honor for finally completing school. Now,
however, with these new time-on-tas.k laws, we don’t get any breaks anymore.
Slowly, each year, seniors lose a little more of their freedom at school. Where
will it end? I was almost surprised when I found out about seniors taking exams, but
then I realized that this was no more absurd than leaving us in school in 96 degrees
weather and making us make up two snow days in June.
Oh, well, c’est la vie, right?!
t
Hs Hs *
The editors of the Full Moon welconrje your suggestions of improvement, com-
mendationS’ criticisms, or opinions on happenings of ASHS in our “Letters to the
Editor section of the paper. Your letters, however, must follow these guidelines to
be published: 1) Letters must be signed but can be published as anonymous if
depred. 2) Letters must be tactful, constructive, and reasonable. 3) Letters must
not damage someone’s character or reputation. 4) You must agree to let your letter
be edited. It may need to be shortened to fit the layout of the page. We encourage you
to write because your opinions improve the quality of our paper and allow different
viewpoints to be expressed. Please let us know your opinions and comments on all
aspects of our school.
The Trials and Tribulations
of Halloween
Students Joe Wall, Carlos Gould, Tim Smith, and George Atkins see no need for
final exams.
By WARD MISENHEIMER
Why do we as human beings resign our
bodies to the physical anguish of a “pagan
ritual” — Halloween? By personal experi
ence I am not yet certain why I go through
the hectic preparation or grueling frustra
tion for one night on the town! I will state
the main problems and major tribulations
of Halloween in this very informative but
brief exposition!
Every Halloween I go through the same
thing — What do I wear? Finally, after an
indefinite search for a costume, I end up in
the Express Lane of Sky City with my $5.00
Halloween attire. Extremely unpleased
and dissatisfied with my rushed costume
selection, I leisurely put it on and begin my
voyage into the night. Only after a few
blocks, I begin to notice the uncomfortable
fitting of my outfit. As I find it hard to
breathe I begin to maneuver my body into
a position which is more suitable for
respiration. By changing my body posi
tion, I then quietly notice a rip through the
crotch of my uniform. Now, being
displeased with the quality of my suit, I
begin to debate returning it for a refund or
continuing into the night. Deciding to
voyage further, I come up on my first
lighted porch and begin a fast gait toward
the doorbell.
As I wait for what seems like an eternity,
I eagerly listen for the sound of footsteps.
Finally, an unfamiliar, disgusted face ap
pears at the lighted doorway. After a long
hesitation and drawn out explanation for
my unexpected visit, the first victim of my
candy infatuation leaves at my request,
later returning with a look of offensive
anger and a handful of Halloween
“goodies”.
As I quickly “haul anus” off the porch, I
look in startled dismay at the cheapness of
my Halloween “treats”! Enraged, I
scream, “They cheated me!” Two Tootsie
Rolls and a half-eaten Baby Ruth is a little
ridiculous, even for an ungrateful teen
ager!
After such an unpleasing discovery, I
find it’s close to my “bedtime”, so I pick
up the pace and make an insane dash
toward my front door. After finding out
that my “wrist clock” was two hours fast,
I crawl to my couch and look forward to
the next Eve of All Saints Day.
•'I
m
Oscar the Grouch is this year’s costume
choice.
Cameron Speights and Samy Lamp in
the act of pumpkin-busting.
Running With The Devil
By SAMY LAMP
My Halloween nights as a child began
like those of all other young children pre
paring for a night of trick-or-treating I
decked out in my favorite devil costume
and skipped door-to-door in choice neigh
borhoods. But, as the years passed, the
number of porch lights inviting trick-or-
treaters dwindled, and the families that
did have their lights on gave out apples or
bananas. At this point, my interests turned
to activities that were more fun.
One Halloween, the Speights and I
scratched the traditional trick-or-treating
for a night of traveling from one haunted
house to another. This, too, became bor-
ing, so for the next few Halloweens I took
up the sport of pumpkin-busting. But, this
al^ came to an abrupt stop when I had to
hide from the police for plastering a sneer
ing jack-o-lantern to the side of a promi
nent citizen’s car.
However, by the time the next Hallo
ween rolled around I was up to my mis
chievous ways again. Deciding that I need
ed more humor in my nights, I planned and
schemed to achieve a Halloween to
remember. That night several friends and
I crammed into a car, along with three
dozen eggs, and cruised the town, egging
cars (Adrienne’s, of course), houses,
schools (Junior High School, to be exact),
and most of all, trick-or-treaters. We even
pulled a few trash cans behind the car, and
watched as the cans tqmbled, wildly
dispersing all their contents. Boy, was that
a night! We had some fun, especially going
downtown and being booked for malicious
damage to private property. So, if you get
bored on Halloween night, give me a ring.
We’ll raise havoc somehow. But don’t call
until next year. This is my Halloween off.