Sigh...

It used to be so simple. Until about four years ago, I lived alone in my house. For Halloween, I usually turned off my front light, went to the back of the house, and watched a movie. Trick-or-treaters knew that light-off meant nobody-home, and I usually didn't have to ignore more than one or two knocks per night.

I was quiet and lived alone, and didn't know my neighbors all that well. It was a good arrangement.

Then, about four years ago, police started loudly saying that sex offenders and other parolees were required to leave their lights off and not answer the door. To avoid any misunderstanding with my neighbors, I started leaving my light on and giving out candy. This was probably for the best, as it increased my neighborhood activity participation quotient by at least 0.4%.

This year, again, I had my light on and gave out candy until around 8:30pm. Then my girlfriend and I turned off the light, went out on the town for a bit, and came back at around 10:00. A little after 10:30, we were getting ready to go to bed, and I decided to turn my front light back on to discourage any mischief that older kids might decide to partake in.

I didn't have the light on for much more than ten minutes when another group of older kids knocked on the door. At 10:50 at night!

I didn't answer it, and turned off the light after they'd left. I'll just hope to not find any property destruction outside in the morning. Sigh...