Too Big for Halloween

Guilt by physical association.

By James DeBord | Posted 10/13/08 | Updated 10/4/24

Be a Smartie. Don't forget the Halloween candy.

"Get off my porch! You older boys should know that Halloween is for the little kids, now get outta here!" the old man yelled at Jimmy.

"But, but, I'm with them," Jimmy managed to mutter as he pointed to his friends standing behind him.

"You teenagers can't fool me," the old man spewed as an angry scowl came across his face.

Jimmy stood there frozen with fear, not believing what he was hearing. But, he soon felt his feet moving as he saw the old man coming out from his doorway, waving his arms wildly as if swatting at flies.

Jimmy turned and ran from the porch as fast as he could going half way down the block before he looked to see if the old man was chasing after him. When he stopped, his heart pounding more from fright than from his sprint, all he saw were his friends running after him and calling his name.

"Jimmy," his best friend Matt shrieked as he came racing down the block, "are you okay?"

But, Jimmy wasn't okay, his face was ashen and tears were flowing down his cheeks. In many ways, Jimmy's sobbing was the only clue to his true age. At 10 years old and in the 5th grade, Jimmy was like any other kid in many respects. But, as far as his physical appearance went, there weren't many other similarities to your average 10-year-old.

At 6'1 and 175 pounds, Jimmy was already bigger than many of his friends' dads. It wasn't as if he were one of those kids that had been held back a few times either. Jimmy was actually one of the younger kids in his class. His size was strictly the product of nature. While his parents were relatively average in height with his dad standing 5'10 and his mom at 5'7, Jimmy's size had been tucked away in the family genes. Jimmy's great-grandfather was 6'11. His ancestor's genetics had not only come out in Jimmy, but also in his older brothers who were 6'5 and 6'8. However, Jimmy seemed on track to be the biggest one of the bunch.

Normally, this would be a good thing for most kids, but not on Halloween Night. Jimmy had second thoughts when his friends had asked him to go out Trick or Treating. The year before in 4th grade Jimmy had gotten a bunch of funny looks with already standing 5'8 at that point. But, with his Dad standing there behind him, most of the people must have thought it was okay for this "older kid" to be out Trick or Treating.

The reason for the hostility toward the bigger kids was because of the assumption they were naturally teenagers, and teenagers had been ruining Halloween in the town for years as far as Jimmy was concerned. The newspaper had carried stories over several Halloweens about bands of teenagers roaming the streets, pushing little kids aside and swiping huge handfuls of candy from bowls being held out on doorsteps all across town. So, Jimmy agreed that high school kids had no business Trick or Treating.

The only problem for Jimmy was that because of his size, everyone assumed that he was one of those high school kids. Guilt by physical association you might say.

As he stood there still shaken from his run-in with the angry old man, who had thought him one of those pesky teenagers, Jimmy looked at his friend Matt and said through his tears, "I guess I'll just have to retire from Halloween."

Next story: Hotel on the Mountain