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The wonderful people who lived in those houses had only one minor flaw: they favored the budget-conscious, locally made Clark Bar, which was made of peanut-butter taffy and a chocolate coating.

As an adult, I love Clark Bars and love that they are still being made 104 years after they were launched. But as a kid, they weren’t as valuable to me. I’d have to trade 10 of them to get a single Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.

I'm incredibly nostalgic about my old trick-or-treating days.

To this day, when I enjoy an occasional candy bar, the taste immediately transports me back to 1972 and the wonderful memory of arriving home with a pillowcase full of sugary loot, my feet raw from the effort.

Here’s why I am especially nostalgic about my childhood Halloween memories: it was a time when kids were free to be kids — free to explore, create and blossom — completely unburdened by the worries of the adult world.

In 1972, the Watergate scandal was in full swing, Bloody Friday bombs were exploding in Belfast and the last U.S. ground troops were being withdrawn from Vietnam.

But as those and other awful experiences played out in the wide cruel world, we kids were free to completely immerse ourselves in our innocent and uncomplicated Halloween traditions.

In recent years adults have grown to enjoy Halloween.

Until recently, it was the one day when they, too, could dress up in ridiculous costumes — costumes that often satirized current events or mocked people in the news in very funny ways — and really let themselves have fun.

But now, thanks to the fun-crushing power of social media, those days are over, too.

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Copyright 2021 Tom Purcell, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com