Still, it was fun to see all the princesses and baseball players, ghouls and goblins and the kids in any number of original costumes stop by for a treat on Halloween night. It reminded me of a time when my own boys were young enough to go door-to-door on the last day of each October to beg for treats—and, yes, of a time when even I was young enough to make the Oct. 31st rounds.

Now, we had something of a Halloween ritual in our family when the kids were younger. Oh, don't get crazy ... it's not some sort of devil worship or a seance to connect with folks in the hereafter. In fact, the only thing my kids were ever "here after" on Halloween was candy. And our ritual was the annual sorting of the treats.

Sad as it may seem, in some places folks cannot trust their neighbors enough these days to simply accept and gobble up the candy they give our children. Sure, we all trust those folks we know, but there's always that one hairy guy down the street who we never see during the day and he only comes out on nights with a full moon wearing a spiked collar and an Oakland Raiders cap.

But we didn't know better when I was a kid ... we trusted our neighbors. Like the folks who lived a couple of blocks away who didn't just hand out treats on Halloween, but invited kids in for apple cider and doughnuts. I'd have never allowed my kids to go in that house! But I would think of them each year as I sorted through the boys' candy.

There had been no sorting when I was a kid. We'd hit the streets on Halloween night with no fear, only great expectations. And my neighbors up around La Rinconada gave out great treats.

I remember Velda and Bob Marcum with those deliciously sticky popcorn balls; Skip and Buzz Frazer with those mouth-watering Mars bars (the old ones with the whole almonds on top, not the crushed up ones inside); the Newtons with the full-sized 3 Musketeers; and Mr. Roeder with ... well, we usually had to soap ol' Roeder's windows because he'd turn off his porch light every Halloween at 6:30 p.m.

Most of all, though, I remember that house a few of blocks away on Zena Avenue. We never knew the family that lived there, but we made sure we visited them every Halloween. Because they didn't just hand out candy bars or chewing gum. They invited us inside for the cider and doughnuts. Needless to say, it was the favorite spot on our trick or treating course.

It was a huge house with giant double doors that would gladly swing open to welcome us in. We could help ourselves to a cup of cider and a glazed, warm our little bodies by the fire, gulp down a second cup of cider and then be on our way. (My mother still loves to tell the story—preferably at large family gatherings where my children are present—of a little 6-year-old who drank too much cider and wet his Casper The Ghost suit. Needless to say, that was a very chilling costume that Halloween.)

It was a different time. We didn't worry about these people harming us. Still, we had our own troubles back then. We had to watch out for the "big kid"—we all trick or treated in fear of him. Legend says that he could dupe you into giving him all your candy in return for him, say, not socking you in the eye.

He might say something clever like, "Hey, runt, gimme your bag of candy or I'll sock you in the eye!"

You, not wanting to get socked anywhere, let alone the eye, would hand over the candy, but say something brave like, "OK, but don't take any." Right.

Sure, it was a tough world out there for trick or treaters. But at least we didn't have idiots tampering with our treats. Never fear, though, because Halloween seems to have made a comeback of sorts. Folks this year dressed up their houses with decorations and dressed up themselves in wild and scary costumes to welcome Halloween visitors.

It's encouraging to see the spirit (no pun intended) return to Halloween, but it's also good to see parents remain ever vigilant, even in the safest of neighborhoods. And it's good to see kids being cautious, being careful ... and, most importantly, staying away from that second cup of cider!