Daughter sinks teeth into holiday

You have to love Halloween. No other holiday offers your children a chance to dress up like pirates, vampires and witches.

Bailey dressed up as a vampire, complete with fake teeth.

My wife, Joni, was in charge of games for the Halloween party in Bailey's fourth-grade class on Monday. The kids had a great time playing Halloween bingo, telling ridiculous Halloween jokes and wrapping each other up in toilet paper to resemble modern-day mummies.

OK, the jokes were silly. But what holiday allows you to tell so many bad jokes? Here's one of the jokes: Why did Dracula take cold medicine? Answer: To stop his coffin.

A lot of parents turn out for the Halloween parties. Most of us just like to see our kids enjoying a little make-believe.

I'm thankful that Cape Girardeau's elementary schools still allow children to dress up as ghouls and goblins and celebrate the holiday with class parties.

In Newton, Mass., an elementary school principal canceled the school's traditional Halloween parties because of the complaints from a handful of parents who said it offended their religious beliefs.

"Not everyone is going to agree with the decision and I really understand that," the school principal was quoted as saying.

The National Education Association says nationwide schools are trying to shorten or cancel holiday celebrations in the classroom for religious reasons or to put more time into academic work.

Halloween is one of the few holidays that fall when children are in school.

Some schools are holding fall celebrations rather than Halloween parties. The whole thing seems ridiculous to those of us who grew up believing trick-or-treat is a rite of passage for children.

Even adults find fun in dressing up. Joni and I attended a Southeast Missouri Hospital foundation party last week. The theme was Pirates of the Caribbean. We dressed up as pirates. So did our friends. Personally, there's nothing wrong with a little pirating when it's all in fun.

Of course, some people may be offended by pirates. But I think there's a little pirate in all of us.

It's not like we want to be common criminals. We want to be loveable rogues, at least one night a year.

When she was younger, Bailey dressed up as a princess. This year she's a vampire.

"I'm not a girlie girl," my 9-year-old confided to me as we drove to a retail store on Monday after school to buy some fake blood.

Bailey, who will turn 10 next month, figures it's time she turned into a vampire. Of course, I couldn't understand a word she said when she talked to me while wearing fake vampire teeth.

But that didn't stop her from carrying on an entire conversation.

She did take out her fake teeth to play the party games. She handed me the teeth to hold for safe keeping. It's stuff like that which makes me proud to be a dad.

And it's flat-out amazing what fourth graders can do when it comes to wrapping classmates in rolls of toilet paper.

I'm sure the toilet paper industry loves Halloween. What other holiday gives you a reason to buy tons of cheap toilet paper and feel good about it?

I feel sorry for the students in Newton. They missed out this year on a chance to take home lots of candy. But more importantly they missed out on a chance for a little youthful fun.

It's amazing what a little fake blood can do for your appearance. Bailey will tell you that being a vampire can be empowering, particularly when you can wrap your arms around a ton of candy.

As all parents know, it's the sugar high that's the really scary part.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.