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Trick or treating--a survey

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Gutterboy1

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to
Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?

Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
(3) just ignore the doorbell?

And do the hospitals in your area have that service where they X-ray candy for
families, just to make sure no one slips the sproggen any tricky treats? Seems
to me a mind-boggling waste of resources.

I always thought it would be funny to go to the market the day before
Halloween, at a time when the store was full of breeders and sproggen, and buy
just two items: a large bag of apples and a package of razor blades...

Gutterboy
(who, if he was home, would be giving the kiddies photocopies of Ilene's
Mirabella article)

Message has been deleted

Wallacd

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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>Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
>(3) just ignore the doorbell?
>
>

Well, for the past several years it was unintentionally (2). Around here they
have an early trick or treat curfew and I usually didn't get home from work
until it was nearly over. However, this year I intend to put a bowl of candy
on the porch and let them help themselves. I live on a cul-de-sac, so it's not
a natural stop for trick-or-treaters and I think a bowl on the porch will work
fine. This way I don't have to deal with the kids, but I won't feel guilty.

Debra
(wal...@aol.com)
"I haven't seen that twinkle in her eye since the neighbor children discovered
our electric fence." (Niles to Frasier about Maris).


ileneb

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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When I lived in the city, there were no kids around ('sigh'). I've been
out of the city for 6 years. My house is off a dirt road/deadend and it's
the only house, therefore is the only place you reach after a rather
unrewarding walk.
They leave me alone. (Unlike the valiant Jehovahs, lurching down the rocky
road in the good shoes).
Ilene B

In article <19981030071558...@ng22.aol.com>, wal...@aol.com

Kent Parks

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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Wallacd <wal...@aol.com> wrote:
: Well, for the past several years it was unintentionally (2). Around here they

: have an early trick or treat curfew and I usually didn't get home from work
: until it was nearly over. However, this year I intend to put a bowl of candy
: on the porch and let them help themselves. I live on a cul-de-sac, so it's not
: a natural stop for trick-or-treaters and I think a bowl on the porch will work
: fine. This way I don't have to deal with the kids, but I won't feel guilty.

Of course, you ARE aware that the first ones to find it will unload the
whole bowl--my mother tried this once when she didn't want to be bothered
with it, and everything was gone in 5 minutes. Are you actually expecting
modern-day sprogs to be UNSELFISH? The way they're raised these days??

Kent, who's done the "turn out the light and hide" routine for nigh near a
decade, now

Sharon

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to

Gutterboy1 wrote:

> Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> (3) just ignore the doorbell?
>

Hubby will be (3), and I will be going to a friends house, who has kids, to rifle
through their haul and have beer treats.

> I always thought it would be funny to go to the market the day before
> Halloween, at a time when the store was full of breeders and sproggen, and buy
> just two items: a large bag of apples and a package of razor blades...

What an idea! Great thinkin' Gutterboy!

>

--
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To e-mail, use this address: pigsrnfree @ primary.net

The yahoo address is SPAMBAIT, I do not read mail sent there.

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DIE SPAMMER DIE
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sei...@ma.ultranet.com

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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In article <19981030071558...@ng22.aol.com>,
wal...@aol.com (Wallacd) quoted:

> >Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> >(3) just ignore the doorbell?

I (1) hand out candy to the sproglets. I liked trick or treating when I was
a kid, so I'm happy to see the tradition continue. Besides, it's not as if I
have to live with small humanoid vermin in my living room afterwards.

---- Scott Eiler B{D> ---- http://www.ultranet.com/~seiler/ ----

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own

Rose M Delckum

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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Excerpts from netnews.alt.support.childfree: 30-Oct-98 Re: Trick or
treating--a su.. by Wal...@aol.com
> >Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not
home; or
>
> >(3) just ignore the doorbell?
> >
> >
>
> Well, for the past several years it was unintentionally (2). Around
here they
>
> have an early trick or treat curfew and I usually didn't get home from work
> until it was nearly over. However, this year I intend to put a bowl of candy
> on the porch and let them help themselves. I live on a cul-de-sac, so
it's no
> t
> a natural stop for trick-or-treaters and I think a bowl on the porch
will work
>
> fine. This way I don't have to deal with the kids, but I won't feel guilty.

You're braver than me. We do a (2) (3) combo - go out for dinner
then ignore the doorbell when we get back. We gave out candy our first
year in the previous house (the one in the area with subsidized housing)
and it was pretty creepy. We had very big guys knocking on the door
demanding candy (eeek!) most of the night. The next year Cory was gone
to some sort of conference on Halloween. I hid upstairs with the lights
out and the phone in hand and the fish-gutting knife by the bed, just in
case :-) Yes, I'm a chicken. :-)


> Debra


Roo (cluck cluck cluck)

--
Rose M. Delckum rm...@cmu.edu
Computing Facilities Administrator
School of Architecture rdel...@andrew.cmu.edu
Carnegie Mellon University
Back up my hard drive? How do I put it in reverse?


Chris Henderson

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to
In article <19981030020508...@ng109.aol.com>, gutte...@aol.com (Gutterboy1) writes:
> Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
> trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?

We're going to be visiting my parents. They live in an apartment bldg.
in the same city we live in, so we won't have to deal with any costumed
sprogs.

>
> Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> (3) just ignore the doorbell?

We live in Sprog Heaven (a townhouse complex). One year, we decided to
"do Hallowe'en", so we went to our local grocery store and bought what
we thought would be enough candy for the sproggen we estimated we'd have
coming to the door. Well, they started coming at *5:30*. By 6:30, we
had run out of candy, so hubby went back up to the grocery store and
bought some more junk. We ran out of that by 7:30 AND THE KIDS WERE
STILL COMING! We shut our door and turned out the lights and vowed that
we would not do Hallowe'en again. What's the point of spending $50 on
candy for other peoples' kids??

>
> And do the hospitals in your area have that service where they X-ray candy for
> families, just to make sure no one slips the sproggen any tricky treats? Seems
> to me a mind-boggling waste of resources.

I don't know if our local hospital does this.


>
> I always thought it would be funny to go to the market the day before
> Halloween, at a time when the store was full of breeders and sproggen, and buy
> just two items: a large bag of apples and a package of razor blades...

I'd love to do this too, but likely, some Mommmeee would call the cops on
me!


>
> Gutterboy
> (who, if he was home, would be giving the kiddies photocopies of Ilene's
> Mirabella article)

Our church is hosting a 'Harvest Party' for the kiddies (can't call it a
"Hallowe'en" party because that word is *Satanic*, even though that's
exactly what the party is). The kiddies get to dress up and there will
be games and "lots and lots of candy" (so said the church bulletin).

If I had kids, I don't think I'd let them participate in door-to-door
trick or treating, just because of all the sickos out there.

Christine Henderson
(who is always surprised at the number of knocks on our door we get,
even though the lights are turned out! Duh!)

Gutterboy1

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to
Wrote Chris Henderson:

>If I had kids, I don't think I'd let them participate in door-to-door
>trick or treating, just because of all the sickos out there.

Good point, Chris. You know, we've had just so darned many mommees and daddees
on this group lately, I thought it was time to share the Onion's annual list of
Halloween safety tips. This should ensure a safe-n-sane holiday for all.

Gutterboy
-----------
姫ack your child's rectum with razor blades to make him/her less desirable to
would-be molesters.

柊lways trick-or-treat in groups of 400,000.
筆any troublemakers and dangerous people come out on Halloween night. To be
safe, trick-or-treat in early March.

百afety and self-defense go hand in hand. Be sure your child's handgun has at
least a 10-round magazine and is at least .38 caliber to ensure stopping power.


彦or optimum safety while trick-or-treating, be sure your child does not
encounter fright-master screenwriter Kevin Williamson.
髭quip your child with special cyanide-filled false tooth for use in case of
capture.

稗e sure child closes eyes before you drill eyeholes in mask.

稗eat would-be child murderers at their own game by poisoning your kids ahead
of time.
疋ress your child in all-black costume to make him/her virtually invisible to
potentially dangerous motorists.

謬ell your kids that if they see anything suspicious or scary-looking--for
example, ghosts, goblins or witches--they should run to the nearest neighbor's
house and call the police.

姫ack child's costume with safety flares.
稗efore sending children off, give their anuses a good dollop of lube. This
will help prevent their tissue from tearing when they are sodomized by maniacs.

疋o not ring doorbells under any circumstances.

C&S Marta

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to
*Sigh*

Number 3. I'll be at the door, in my costume from "Death of Dracula." I'm
going to make the little beggars sing, though.

...and maybe pass out shots of rum to the mommees...

Cristabel. I LOVE Hallowe'en! :-)


Pau...@pop.erols.com

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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I admit, we always give out candy. Fortunately we've never lived in a
highly populated area--and this will be our first year out in the
country--so we never spend more than $10. Now as to the real reason we
give out candy/ buy whatever neighborhood kids sell door-to-door: we
just want to stay on good terms with the neighbors so noone has it in
for us. We are perpetually paranoid that someone could make some (likely
concocted) complaint about our dogs and, knowing that pet owners have no
real leg to stand on, have them taken away. True, such a scenario is
pretty unlikely (we are highly responsible pet owners--though they do
bark, and there are 10 of them<g>), but if being polite to the
neighborhood kids when they're at our door keeps them off our backs,
we'll do it :)

Paula

Kent Parks

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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Angelmoon <computer...@mailexite.com> wrote:

: Now, I do 3 and yes they do waste all that x-ray material instead of using
: it to give free mammograms to disadvantaged women. :P

? ? ? I must have missed something--I haven't seen any threads about
"X-Ray material"...? What was this regarding?

Kent

Larisa Migachyov

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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Kent Parks wrote:

Free service of X-raying candy to check for razor blades.

--
Larisa Migachyov * Quant'e bella giovinezza
Biomechanical Engineering * Che si fugge tuttavia!
Stanford University * Chi vuol esser lieto, sia;
http://www.stanford.edu/~lvm * Di doman non c'e certezza.

AEVorKRC

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to
On 30 Oct 1998 07:05:08 GMT, gutte...@aol.com (Gutterboy1) wrote:

>Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
>trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
>

>Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
>(3) just ignore the doorbell?

We don't get many trick-or-treaters where I live, the complex is set
up so oddly, that most of them bypass our building.



>And do the hospitals in your area have that service where they X-ray candy for
>families, just to make sure no one slips the sproggen any tricky treats? Seems
>to me a mind-boggling waste of resources.

Yes they are, and yes it is. Particularly because the "razorblade
apple" is more of an urban legend than anything else. I noticed that
these "stories" about such things began in the late 1970's and early
1980s, which was about the same time (at least in this area) of the
growth of Fundamentalist Christianity. IMO, these stories were
started as a way of scaring people away from Halloween, which is
considered to be a "Satanic" holiday by the far-right Christians. My
father has been an ER physician at a major Oklahoma City hospital for
20 years, and has yet to see or hear of a single instance of
razorlades, pins, etc. being stuck in treats. Think about it, if you
were hellbent on doing some harm to kids, whould you go to the trouble
of jamming a razorblade into an apple (which would not be all that
easy when you think about it) or inject a little poison into a candy
bar? X-Rays don't detect poison.

>I always thought it would be funny to go to the market the day before
>Halloween, at a time when the store was full of breeders and sproggen, and buy
>just two items: a large bag of apples and a package of razor blades...
>

>Gutterboy
>(who, if he was home, would be giving the kiddies photocopies of Ilene's
>Mirabella article)

Another thing you can do is make yourself annoying enough so that
people remember to avoid you next time around. We have some Jehovah's
Witnesses who are always leaving their Watchtowers in the complex
laundries. I thought it would be a good idea to collect them all and
hand them out to trick or treaters, and to also try to convert them -
that'll probably guarantee that the parents (if they are escorting
their kids) will avoid you in the future. A big dog is good, too. I
used to have a spitz-lab mix who, while not very big, had a hell of a
bark. He used to run to the door barking whenever the bell rang - on
Halloween, about 80% of the trick or treaters were halfway down the
driveway by the time I reached the door, scared off by the dog's
incessant barking. It also helps to give the dog a infamous enough
name so that people will look at you funny as you call to him behind
the door to restrain him. My dog was named Napoleon - Adolf, Benito,
Saddam, or Moamar are also good choices.

KRC

naomi pardue

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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AEVorKRC (amie...@nospam.prodigy.net) wrote:
> On 30 Oct 1998 07:05:08 GMT, gutte...@aol.com (Gutterboy1) wrote:
> Yes they are, and yes it is. Particularly because the "razorblade
> apple" is more of an urban legend than anything else. I noticed that
> these "stories" about such things began in the late 1970's and early
> 1980s, which was about the same time (at least in this area) of the
> growth of Fundamentalist Christianity.


Ummm... nooo.... as a kid (in the 1960's) we were not allowed to eat any
candy or popcorn (nothing but commercially sealed candy) unless we were
absolutely sure we knew the family it came from. Halloween paranoia FAR
predates the growth of the religious right.
(But you ARE right that it's urban legend stuff. So far as I know, there
has never been an actual case of poisoned/razor bladed treats.)

Naomi

Atalanta Pendragonne

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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On 30 Oct 1998 18:03:08 GMT, npa...@indiana.edu (naomi pardue) wrote:


>Ummm... nooo.... as a kid (in the 1960's) we were not allowed to eat any
>candy or popcorn (nothing but commercially sealed candy) unless we were
>absolutely sure we knew the family it came from. Halloween paranoia FAR
>predates the growth of the religious right.
>(But you ARE right that it's urban legend stuff. So far as I know, there
>has never been an actual case of poisoned/razor bladed treats.)
>
>Naomi


There has been a couple of cases, and all of `em were traced back to
the kid's parents.
Atalanta Pendragonne

Tricia

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to
C&S Marta wrote:
>
> *Sigh*
>
> Number 3. I'll be at the door, in my costume from "Death of Dracula." I'm
> going to make the little beggars sing, though.
>
> ...and maybe pass out shots of rum to the mommees...

I went to an "all-girls" catholic high-school where our connected "boy's"
high-school was run by the brothers from the Christian Brothers. They used to
hand out mini bottles of their brandy to the adults on Halloween.

> Cristabel. I LOVE Hallowe'en! :-)

Me too, me too!
I'll be handing out candy (Number 3)

Tricia


RPU3

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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The Halloween question is being pondered:

Do you:
(1) hand out candy to the sproglets
(2) make sure you're not home

(3) just ignore the doorbell?

Me:
Well, usually we do #1, 'cause we kind of like Halloween. It's fun to not pass
out candy the kids who don't say please or thank you, or bitch about what you
are passing, or try to tell you what they want out of your assorment.

This year, my 8 year old nephew is with us (mind you, I like my nephew as long
as his BNP mother isn't with him), so we are going down to the in-laws fancy
neighborhood and taking him trick or treating. Then we can raid his candy for
pixie straws and snickers when he goes to bed.

Rebecca

marss...@my-dejanews.com

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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In article <71coid$tii$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,

sei...@ma.ultranet.com wrote:
> In article <19981030071558...@ng22.aol.com>,
> wal...@aol.com (Wallacd) quoted:
> > >Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or

> > >(3) just ignore the doorbell?
>
> I (1) hand out candy to the sproglets. I liked trick or treating when I was
> a kid, so I'm happy to see the tradition continue. Besides, it's not as if I
> have to live with small humanoid vermin in my living room afterwards.

We'll probably be at home handing out candy. I don't hate kids (anymore), I
just can't stand being around them for more than a few hours. And
trick-or-treating was a ton of fun when I was younger.

Besides, on what other occasion to you get to scare the guts out of a sproglet
WITH their parents' approval?

-Mars

sei...@ma.ultranet.com

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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In article <71d321$c3o$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,

marss...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> We'll probably be at home handing out candy. I don't hate kids (anymore), I
> just can't stand being around them for more than a few hours. And
> trick-or-treating was a ton of fun when I was younger.
>
> Besides, on what other occasion to you get to scare the guts out of a sproglet
> WITH their parents' approval?

I forgot to mention how I usually dress up as Death to answer the door. I've
scared quite a few kids that way.

---- Scott Eiler B{D> ---- http://www.ultranet.com/~seiler/ ----

-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------

AEVorKRC

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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On 30 Oct 1998 18:03:08 GMT, npa...@indiana.edu (naomi pardue) wrote:

--cut--

>Ummm... nooo.... as a kid (in the 1960's) we were not allowed to eat any
>candy or popcorn (nothing but commercially sealed candy) unless we were
>absolutely sure we knew the family it came from. Halloween paranoia FAR
>predates the growth of the religious right.
>(But you ARE right that it's urban legend stuff. So far as I know, there
>has never been an actual case of poisoned/razor bladed treats.)

Like I said, that's when I first began hearing about it. I lived in
Europr for the first few years of my life that I remember, so when we
came back in 1978, that's when we began hearing such things. My
parents did not recall ever hearing such things prior to that. Then
again, it takes time for these legends to spread, and we do tend to be
behind the curve here in Oklahoma in realizing the dangers (real or
imagined) of the modern world, so the stories could have cropped up
here while we were away.

KRC

Sharon Molloy

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to

> Gutterboy1 wrote:
>
> > Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> > (3) just ignore the doorbell?

(2). It's about the only day of the year I wear makeup, a sleeveless
dress, and dangly earrings. Boris and I go out together and look for a
Halloween dance, dollink! >;)


_/\/\_
Sharon


Rabbit

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to

Gutterboy1 wrote:

> Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
> trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
>

> Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> (3) just ignore the doorbell?
>

Oh, the joys of living in the country ... in 12 years we've had one child come to
the door (courtesy of Mommy's minivan).

Rabbit


Rabbit

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
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AEVorKRC wrote:

> On 30 Oct 1998 07:05:08 GMT, gutte...@aol.com (Gutterboy1) wrote:
>
> >Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
> >trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
> >
> >Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> >(3) just ignore the doorbell?
>

> We don't get many trick-or-treaters where I live, the complex is set
> up so oddly, that most of them bypass our building.
>
> >And do the hospitals in your area have that service where they X-ray candy for
> >families, just to make sure no one slips the sproggen any tricky treats? Seems
> >to me a mind-boggling waste of resources.
>

> Yes they are, and yes it is. Particularly because the "razorblade
> apple" is more of an urban legend than anything else. I noticed that
> these "stories" about such things began in the late 1970's and early
> 1980s, which was about the same time (at least in this area) of the

> growth of Fundamentalist Christianity. IMO, these stories were
> started as a way of scaring people away from Halloween, which is
> considered to be a "Satanic" holiday by the far-right Christians. My
> father has been an ER physician at a major Oklahoma City hospital for
> 20 years, and has yet to see or hear of a single instance of
> razorlades, pins, etc. being stuck in treats.

Our local police department last year said that they have no records of ANY force
in North America reporting such a thing done by strangers ... A couple of children
did receive such candy, and it turned out that the children were poisoned by their
parents!!!!!!!

Rabbit


BrassWoman

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to
(1) handing out candy. It's fun, and I really *do* think the little ones are
cyoooot in their widdle costumes.

They have x-raying in my area (Southern Maine). I don't think it's such a
waste though -- those machines are old and your insurance company has paid for
them many, many times over.

Re: supermarket prank: YOU ARE EVIL!

:-D

Tess

Leslie Devlin

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to
Gutterboy1 <gutte...@aol.com> wrote:
>Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
>trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
>
>Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
>(3) just ignore the doorbell?

I'll be out, but not because I have to be. The past couple of years,
the kiddees have wrapped up their trick-or-treating by the time I got
home from work. Also, I don't think my apt. complex gets many
trick-or-treaters to begin with; most of my neighbors are assumed to
be out at parties or on 6th Street and the single-family homes in the
posh neighborhood just up the road have much better pickings.

-LeslieD

Ida Kern

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to
Gutterboy1 wrote in message <19981030020508...@ng109.aol.com>...

>Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
>trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
>
>Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets

My husband actually enjoys handing out the candy (the younger ones are cute)
but this year we bought a load of candy and I just found out he's WORKING so
now I'm getting stuck doing it. Not too thrilled with this prospect, but we
already bought the candy and if I don't do it, he'll eat all the candy up
himself and he's already 40+ lbs overweight. I've decided to compromise and
only do it for a few hours .....from about 5 pm to 8 pm when the younger
kids are out. After that, all the lights will go out.

>And do the hospitals in your area have that service where they X-ray candy
for
>families, just to make sure no one slips the sproggen any tricky treats?
Seems
>to me a mind-boggling waste of resources.


Yes, my hospital x-rays candy. I think they also host a party of some kind
for hospital employees who don't want to take their kids around to
strangers.

Marisa Wood

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Oct 30, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/30/98
to
On 30 Oct 1998, Gutterboy1 wrote:

> Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
> trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
>

> Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> (3) just ignore the doorbell?

I'll pick door (2), thank you :) I'm celebrating Samhain with friends on
Saturday night.

Marisa Wood
ish...@blarg.net
"...your 'wilder moments' are trying to tell you something."
(from *Some Small Measure*: http://www.blarg.net/~ishara/SSM)


Heather M.

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
Since we're on the topic...

We always manage to get the older kids who are waaaay too old to be out
trick or treating coming to the door. I find it pretty annoying when
they come around begging for candy when they're old enough to be holding
down a part time job! Because I'm mean, I try to embarass the hell out
of each and every one of them before giving them their miniature
chocolate bar. Usually I make them do a song and dance routine, but
that's getting a little stale. Anyone have some good suggestions on how
to embarass them this year??

Heather

Sue Smith

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
We thought it would be fun to go to the movies. And we thought we would take the
opportunity to see a kid movie that we ordinarily wouldn't want to suffer through
with all the sprogs there. We were thinking that we may want to see "Antz".

We thought this was a great idea. (We also do this on Super Bowl Sunday-another
time that the theatres are deserted and we don't give a rat's ass about
football.)

Sue S. in Portland, OR


Ruth Mastron

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
In article <19981030020508...@ng109.aol.com>,
gutte...@aol.com (Gutterboy1) wrote:

> Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
> trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
>
> Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> (3) just ignore the doorbell?


I confess: (4) Wear my dinosaur costume, hand out candy, shmooz with the
kids and their parents.

But I would never in a million years CHANGE PLACES with said parents.
That's too scary even for Halloween!!!


Ruth Mastron
(I'd be naked in a tower with a machine gun fifteen minutes after giving
birth. . .)

LADYBUG810

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
>Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
>trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
>
>Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
>(3) just ignore the doorbell?

I can admit it.....#1.

But I buy cheap candy, don't buy loads of it, and when it's gone, I turn off
all the lights.

Like someone else said, I enjoyed Halloween as a kid (even in the arctic cold
of northern Minnesota) and there are some really cute costumes kids come up
with. It's a pain in the ass to answer the door every 2 seconds, but I admit
to almost enjoying it.

<duck>

Kristen

Kent Parks

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
I do agree that I remember these stories in MY trick-or-treating days,
which ended about 1974...

Kent

AEVorKRC <amie...@nospam.prodigy.net> wrote:
:>Ummm... nooo.... as a kid (in the 1960's) we were not allowed to eat any

Kent Parks

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
Leslie Devlin <mi...@realtime.net> wrote:

: I'll be out, but not because I have to be. The past couple of years,


: the kiddees have wrapped up their trick-or-treating by the time I got
: home from work.

That's usually a good excuse to linger at work, but it's on a Saturday
this year... :( I think tomorrow would be a good day to hit the 5:30
movie!

Kent

ian_...@msn.com

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
Two years ago I tried a combination of option (3): "don't answer the doorbell"
with option (4): "Give way and answer the door after a second, very long and
urgent ring, in case in turns out not to be trick-or-treaters at all, but the
police calling with bad news."

This proved a very, very bad move, since I had nothing to give the T.O.T.ers A
few seconds after I'd shut the door on them, a massive crash indicated that
something had hit my door with force.

I should explain at this point that, although we celebrate Halloween here in
Britain, the T.O.T aspect of is purely American. It has been catching on a
bit here in recent years, but I've heard rumours that British participants
often just use it an excuse for vandalism. Anyway, these particular
T.O.T.ers were that first I've ever had in the the ten years I've lived in
this house, so obviously I'd prepared no goodies for them, and had no idea
what to expect. Well, what I got was eggs thrown at my door. The whole thing
scared the daylights out of me, frankly. I was alone in the house and, for
all I knew, the next move might be a brick though my window.

Anyway, I phoned the local police station to say there were kids causing
damage, and they were likely to scare some people (especially old folk) who
aren't used the T.oT. thing. The policewoman who took my call just
patronised me, and made it clear she thought the it was just a case of dear
little mischievous kiddies having fun.

So my only resort was to write a letter the local newspaper (who printed it)
along the lines of: "What fun trick-or-treating is! How my husband and I
laughed as we scrubbed rubbish from our front door! How we chortled as we
bought a new doormat the replace the one the kids had ruined!" I said I
thought the whole thing was a glorified protection racket, and that I
couldn't understand why in this age of paranoia people would let their
unsupervized kids knock on strangers' doors demanding sweets.

No doubt trick-or-treating is fun if you're brought up to it - but as far as
I'm concerned, you Americans are welcome to it!

Janet

Brenda Sharpe

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to

Gutterboy1 (gutte...@aol.com) writes:
> Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
> trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
>
> Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> (3) just ignore the doorbell?

DH thinks I'm crazy but I actually like giving candy to the younger kids.
It's really the one time of year I actually *speak* to the neighbour children,
and I like to think it is a positive reinforcement for them that a) not all
people without children are weird and b) we are nice so when they're old
enough they won't break into my house! Here people for the most part won't
let their kids knock on the doors of houses that haven't got a porch light
on or jack-o-lantern out and the older ones seem to have a clue that
"lights off" means "nothing left."

We do get a few older ones later in the evening, which pisses me off, but
I just turn the light off when I'm tired of dealing with it.

My artist-husband designs our jack-o-lanterns, BTW, and we got lots of
compliments from the kids last year.


--
Brenda J. Sharpe -- aj...@freenet.carleton.ca
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Disclaimer: Pushing 40 and born in Fredericton, NB :)
**************************************************

Chris Henderson

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
In article <MPG.10a434697...@news.earthlink.net>, kata...@earthlink.net (Jeri Jo Thomas) writes:
> In article <71ci6l$mhb$2...@pinta.pagesz.net>,
> kmp...@nina.pagesz.net says...
> --> Kent, who's done the "turn out the light and hide" routine for nigh near a
> --> decade, now
> -->
> I don't quite understand this "turn out the light and hide"
> thing. The unwritten rule is you =don't= visit a house whose
> front porch light isn't on. When did this change to visit every
> house on the street regardless of the light status?

Somewhere between the time I quit trick-or-treating (age 13) and
when I moved into my townhouse (age 23). As kids, we always knew
that if the lights were out, the people weren't home (or weren't
participating in Hallowe'en). We'd pass by those houses. You
wouldn't believe the number of knocks we get on our door on
Hallowe'en night, even though our lights are out and there
is no car in the driveway! I can't figure out if it's the kids
who are getting stupider, or their parents.

> Jeri Jo--
>
Christine Henderson

brav...@my-dejanews.com

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
In article <19981030020508...@ng109.aol.com>,
gutte...@aol.com (Gutterboy1) wrote:
> Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
> trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
>
> Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> (3) just ignore the doorbell?
>

I guess I'm just lucky, I've been in this apartment almost 3 years and have
never gotten a trick-or-treater. When I had my condo, I just left the porch
light out and none ever came to the door.

In this area, there are set hours for trick-or-treating, 6pm-8pm, and my
friends who are home owners tell me they are observed, meaning they never get
any before 6, and none after 8, which I think is a good thing.

When I was a kid, the city we lived in didn't have set hours, so we got them
from when the sun went down on until past 9pm. What really used to bug us was
when we'd run out candy we'd turn off the lights in the front of the house and
on the porch, and they'd still ring our doorbell.

> And do the hospitals in your area have that service where they X-ray candy for
> families, just to make sure no one slips the sproggen any tricky treats? Seems
> to me a mind-boggling waste of resources.
>

I've heard in many areas, hospitals have quit doing that. I know the local
Red Cross has been proting a service which will inspect candy, but I don't
know if that includes X-Rays. Many hospitals that have done this in the past
report they have never found anything.

> I always thought it would be funny to go to the market the day before
> Halloween, at a time when the store was full of breeders and sproggen, and buy
> just two items: a large bag of apples and a package of razor blades...
>

I'm not sure I'd do that, in today's society, if there was an incident,
they'd do whatever it took to pin it on you. Last week's edition of PBS's
Frontline series on child sexual abuse cases in Miami and Janet Reno is an
example of the mentality I'm talking about.

Later...

BRAVO

Rabbit

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
>
>
> Somewhere between the time I quit trick-or-treating (age 13) and
> when I moved into my townhouse (age 23). As kids, we always knew
> that if the lights were out, the people weren't home (or weren't
> participating in Hallowe'en). We'd pass by those houses. You
> wouldn't believe the number of knocks we get on our door on
> Hallowe'en night, even though our lights are out and there
> is no car in the driveway! I can't figure out if it's the kids
> who are getting stupider, or their parents.
>

Sometimes I wonder if it isn't the parents -- "How DARE you not want to hand out candy to my children!"
mentality -- that make them try anyway ...

Rabbit


Jim Paradis

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
I've definitley mellowed over the years... the first couple of years
we had the house we did the "hide-in-the-back-room-with-the-lights-out"
bit, but in recent years I've actually rather come to enjoy the
ritual. At least in these parts the kids actually seem to be on their
best behavior, and it's a pleasure to chat with them. Some of them
seem a bit uncomfortable and self-conscious, and I like to help draw
them out...

Now if the kids I interact with on a daily basis could be that well
behaved *all* the time, I wouldn't have a repuatation as a kid-hating
curmudgeon 8-)

--
Jim Paradis j...@jrp.tiac.net "The early bird gets the worm.
http://www.tiac.net/users/jrp/index.html If you want something else for
breakfast, get up later."

Eric & Karen

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to


> I (1) hand out candy to the sproglets. I liked trick or treating when I was
> a kid, so I'm happy to see the tradition continue. Besides, it's not as if I
> have to live with small humanoid vermin in my living room afterwards.

I live in a large apartment building. Three kids came to my door - the one from
across the hall and the two next door. This wasn't a strain on my resources. They
said thank you. It took a few minutes of my evening, and I have lots of leftover
snacks to put in our lunches all week. Not wanting or even really liking children
doesn't mean loathing them. (put me in a restaurant or airplane with a squalling
brat, and I'll will revise that statement). I don't even really hate those kids - I
hate the stupid, inept, slack-jawed parents.

Happy Hallowe'en
Karen

das

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Oct 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM10/31/98
to
I live in a reasonably safe, close-into-the-city, lower-to-middle class
neighborhood (Ballard, for those in the Seattle area), on
a quiet street, so even though there aren't a lot of kids on
the block, my street gets a fair number of trick-or-treaters.
So far I've had about 20, and they've all been very polite,
most of them both thanking me and wishing me a happy Halloween.
The only ones who didn't were very young, and they were
immediately instructed by their parents to say thank you.
There is hope yet . . .
--
Debbie the Gruesome d...@halcyon.com
"I'm not crazy, I've just been in a very bad mood for 40 years."
_Steel Magnolias_
Nicer people than me hang out at http://www.booksatoz.com/witsend/index.htm

LADYBUG810

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Nov 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/1/98
to
>Our mall sets aside 30 Oct for the "Hallowe'en Parade" where the
>kiddies in their little costumes troop thru the place collecting
>candy. It's pandemonium.

When I lived in Fargo (N.D.), our mall did this too, although not until after I
had grown out of Halloween.

I went a few years ago with my best friend and her daughter....and I'd say
pandemonium is a damn fine description of what it was. Never again.

Kristen

Ms. Quickly

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Nov 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/1/98
to

lilsu...@earthlink.net wrote:

> x-no-archive:yes
>
> What really gets me is that my local grocery store allows the kids to go
> trick or treating *inside* the store. The crowd was unbelievable today.
> I had to take detours in my grocery shopping because of little kids
> blocking the aisles. I don't care where they trick or treat, but why
> does it have to be in a grocery store of all places? Not only that, but
> there were helpers dolled up in costumes at the entrance of the store,
> "welcoming" kids. I had to force my way in. Oh well, next time I will
> know better not to go to my grocery store on Halloween.

This is evidently how things work in NYC. I stopped off at the bodega to get a soda
and wound up having to stand in front of the cashier for five minutes, dollar
clutched tightly in hand, while sprogs pushed past me, and adults fawned over them.
Then they came into the bookstore up to my info desk and asked *me for candy. Not
even cutely.

Really, if you think it's too dangerous for your sprog to TOT through your apartment
building, then take it to a party or something. I can't see how TOT-ing can be fun
going from one retail establishment to another. And despite it's proximity to the
subway, I won't be returning to that bodega again - retail TOT is also bad business.

> For the survey, I ignore the doorbell.

Survey-wise? When I lived back in the burbs. I'd dress up and hand out candy myself,
but very few TOT-ers came - breeders started bussing their sprog to the more
expensive subdivisions so they could get "better" candy. Greedy bastards. (oh well -
more reese's peanut butter cups for me!)

~ Joy


Ross Openmind

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Nov 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/1/98
to
Well I thought about living out a little fantasy of mine. I set out a
bowl w/ a "take one" sign and spy on the kids. If they take more then
one they get greeted w/ my super-soaker. I didn't do is this year,
maybe next ;-) I still live at home so I just let them worry about it.
We had plenty leftover, mommy didn't learn from last year. (we live in
a secluded cul de sac, oh well)

|)
|\oss Openmind

Gutterboy1 wrote:
>
> Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
> trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?
>
> Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> (3) just ignore the doorbell?
>

> And do the hospitals in your area have that service where they X-ray candy for
> families, just to make sure no one slips the sproggen any tricky treats? Seems
> to me a mind-boggling waste of resources.
>

> I always thought it would be funny to go to the market the day before
> Halloween, at a time when the store was full of breeders and sproggen, and buy
> just two items: a large bag of apples and a package of razor blades...
>

> Gutterboy
> (who, if he was home, would be giving the kiddies photocopies of Ilene's
> Mirabella article)

Hronn

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Nov 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/1/98
to
On Sat, 31 Oct 1998 18:18:30 -0500, Rabbit <rab...@hotstar.net> wrote:

>Now, all of this was beyond me. Trick or treating to houses, well fine, but a
>mall? There were no signs advertising such a service on the doors, and I read the
>local papers religiously and didn't see anything about it. Furthermore, I was there
>for about an hour and a half, right up until closing, and this was the only child I
>saw doing such a thing.

In Iceland they don't trick or treat at halloween but in February and they
only do it at the mall or in stores. That custom wasn't around when I was a
kid about 20 years ago so somehow it must have started. The mall and stores
downtown have accepted that this will be going on and advertise that candy
will only be given out before noon so at least it doesn't take the whole day.


Going to the mall on that day is murder. It's filled with kids and around
lunchtime they take up all the tables of every restaurant and burger joint (5
kids sharing one coke or something) and they're all counting how much candy
they got. Some stores make them sing for it. Others just freely give it out.


Now if they would start going door to door begging for candy I would find it
very strange and rude and if they came to my door I would most certainly
ignore the doorbell.

Hrönn

--
my real email addy (the one I actually check the mail at) is hronng(at)vortex.is

Vera Izrailit

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Nov 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/1/98
to
Gutterboy1 <gutte...@aol.com> wrote:
> Just wondering: If you live in a place where Halloween is celebrated with
> trick-or-treating, what will you be doing Saturday night?

> Do you (1) hand out candy to the sproglets; (2) make sure you're not home; or
> (3) just ignore the doorbell?

Luckily nobody here goes trick-or-treating, but when I lived in the US
I lived with my parents, and my mother used to hand out the candy. On
the couple of occasions when my parents were not home I switched off
the lights outside in hope that the brats will take the hint, but the
doorbell rang all the time anyway. I ignored it but was pissed off
anyway.

--
Vera Izrailit

Intestinal parasites known as senders of unsolicited commercial email will
have their genitals removed by a rusty kitchen knife without anaesthesia,
be painfully sodomized by a herd of elephants and then slowly tortured to
death. Unlikely survivors will be promptly caught and fed to the lawyers.

Ida Kern

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Nov 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/1/98
to
Ross Openmind wrote in message <363C2567...@openmind.8m.com>...

>Well I thought about living out a little fantasy of mine. I set out a
>bowl w/ a "take one" sign and spy on the kids. If they take more then
>one they get greeted w/ my super-soaker.

I looooove this! Halloween will be so much fun for me next year!

Ida (disgruntled because I gave out candy and one of the sproglets *still*
egged my truck!)

Rachel Pildis

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Nov 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/1/98
to
In article <363AF6...@uniserve.com>, hmci...@uniserve.com says...
I know that this is too late, but my SO made the high-school age kids
tell him the dirtiest joke they know, and then he reciprocated. Then the
kids could have a chocolate eyeball.

Rachel (who hid upstairs because my demand that the sprogs actually tell
a joke first would not have been well-received)
--
http://www.enteract.com/~pildis/

Brenda Peters

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Nov 1, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/1/98
to
We actually did this. It was wonderful. We went out to a couple stores to pick up
things we needed, then went to the mall, then to Antz. Every place was deserted.
Clerks were bored. There were virtually no children, and almost no adults (the mall
had TOT the night before -- I'm glad we avoided that) anywhere. I guess everyone
else was out at parties or something. It was very nice for us, though.

bkp

naomi pardue

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Nov 2, 1998, 3:00:00 AM11/2/98