Halloween was an emotional eternity ago, although, in reality, it’s only been days. We had our five trick-or-treaters. The deer actually left our pumpkins alone. And we consumed the four bags of Halloween candy I bought “just in case.” All in all, this year was much like last year. It wasn’t until I conversed with a stranger that I remembered what I was missing.

“Good morning, how are you doing?” I started with the standard pleasantries, not expecting much of a response.

“I’m just still in awe … I’ve never seen anything like it,” the woman responded. At my curious look, she continued, “Yesterday, I grabbed an afternoon cup of coffee, sat outside and just watched the children and families. It was amazing.”

Children? Families? Ah, the downtown Halloween trick-or-treat … I understood where she was coming from. Like this lady from Queens, I was amazed the first time I witnessed this event.

“Have they been doing this a long time?”

That was a question I could answer, but only vaguely. “At least 30 years, I’m not sure exactly how long.”

For a Halloween lover, the years between college and having children can be long. Unless the bars have a costume contest or there’s a party, young adults are relegated to the sidelines. And, if you don’t live on a main candy route, your costumed visitors are scarce.

Thirty-some years ago, as a new teacher, I heard the excited students talk about heading downtown. Scraping together some money (those were the days of searching for coins beneath couch cushions to buy a pint of milk), I headed down too. Hungry for some vicarious ghoulishness, I sat in the window of the Pontiac Club (now the Village Mercantile) eating my sandwich and watching the gaggles of princesses, vampires and dinosaurs go by. Elaborate hand-crafted creations, store-bought costumes and rag-tag hand-me-downs — all were represented. It was pure magic.

Fast forward to when Bill and I had our first child. I wanted to be a part of this joyful gathering, so I dressed her up and joined in. Because she was too young for sweets, Chloe handed out small thank-you notes to the candy givers. It was sort of reverse trick-or-treating. And it was the beginning of a cherished annual event.

As humans, we are wired to forget about the pleasant and dwell on the things that scare or frighten us. In a way, Halloween merges those two worlds. And while I am grateful for the stranger’s words which evoked a happy memory, they did more than that. They reminded me not to be complacent and to act to preserve those small important things.

And ultimately, what is more important than community? About the same time that I sat watching the Halloween spectacle from the window of the Pontiac Club, a long-time resident said to me, “The thing about Saranac Lake is that you can have a kid who goes to Europe every summer be friends with a kid who has never traveled further than Malone.” That’s still true. And what’s also true is that those cultural differences exist in our local politics. But the truest truth of all is that we are still neighbors, we are still a community, and we can still come together to preserve the things that make our town special — things like the downtown trick-or-treat fest.

Jan Fitzgerald made an important point in a recent Facebook post. The local businesses that are so generous on Halloween need our support to survive. These same merchants donate to organizations’ raffles, support youth activities and employ locals. No matter our beliefs or politics, we all want a vibrant town that provides opportunities. One small step we can take to achieve this goal is to spend some of our dollars here.

The season from Halloween to Christmas is important to our retailers. Each hometown purchase we make helps to guarantee that our town remains a community. So please, shop local when you can.

After all, why did Dracula go shopping in downtown Saranac Lake?

Because he was looking for some fang-tastic gifts!