Janet Heeres French
I remember one Halloween night maybe twenty years ago. My sister, Ferne, and I had gathered at Mom's house on Center Street in Ravenna, across the street from Phyllis, to enjoy family companionship while handing out Trick or Treat candy. Center Street always had a lot of Trick or Treaters. And they werent high school students or van loads coming in from out of town. They were neighborhood kids. My sister and I were both in costume with grotesque masks that scared the little ones so much they were hesitant to come up the stairs to get their candy. As the night progressed, the number of Trick or Treaters dwindled.
In our boredom and inspired by a sense of silliness, Ferne and I decided we had to go across the street to amuse Phyllis. We knew that, masked, she would not recognize us. But we wanted to be entertaining. We racked our brains for something different. The solution came when we found beer in the frig. Now, none of us are beer drinkers. But my Dad had been. He had passed, but his beer remained. We decided to take his beer to Phyllis as a reverse Trick or Treat.
And so we did. Grabbing a six pack of beer, we trudged across the street. In our masks we went up to Phyllis door, knocked, and called, Trick or Treat. Phyllis answered, totally unaware of which two adult Trick or Treaters were standing before her. She bent to give us candy, but we explained that, no, we had a treat for her. And we gave her the beer. And we could not stop laughing. Confused until we unmasked, Phyllis went along with our feeble joke. Then she herself burst into laughter and joined in our celebration and camaraderie. There were many occasions for laughs and smiles with Phyllis. She will always be fondly remembered.