Cabbage night.....
in Brooklyn, New York, way back in the late 1920's.
My Dad used to tell a story about his escapades as a young man around Halloween time.
Kids would fill an old sock with flour and hit each other with it.
Pretty tame, huh? Especially in comparison to what this night has escalated into since then.
When I was in High School, this night called for a outing of roaming the streets of a local town with fellow teens, our pockets filled with eggs and/or shaving cream.
The eggs were hurled at other street wanderers in hopes of covering them with the gooey substance inside. The shaving cream was to add further insult to the situation.
I remember my Freshman High School year experience in particular.
But first, a background story...
While ordering the required uniform for my new school, my mother decided to purchase the school's blue stadium coat with it's largely visible school emblem.
I was not happy about that. At the time, I believe, wearing boys jackets was more the "in thing" in outerwear. Reluctantly, and at her insistence, I wore the coat when the weather turned colder.
So it was on Cabbage night that I set off to join my friends, while wearing "the coat."
Meeting up with several friends, we started off at the top of the Main Street and worked our way down to the opposite end. We had several encounters along the way - all of which I thought was great fun actually. By the time I reached the meeting point for my Dad to pick me up, I was literally covered from head to toe in raw eggs and shaving cream.
To say my mother was not amused would be an understatement.
The dry cleaner later told her that it was nearly impossible to get all of the offending mess off the coat. So it had to be thrown away.
I can honestly say that the destruction of the coat was not preplanned on my part.
It simply turned out to be a lucky turn of events for me -
I never had to wear it again.
Sorry, Mom.
