UNICEF and the Commonists! A shared memory. When I was about five or six, circa 1955 in Houston, my mom instructed my sister and me that it was OK to carry our paper bags for candy when we trick or treated but we should nominally decline the sweets at first offering and say we actually wanted dimes for UNICEF. I was pretty intimidated when people who answered their doors to these tiny girls in pillow cases with eye holes, said the same thing about UNICEF, and just as irately, as that principal did to your mom. It was maybe scarier for us because adults didn’t go trick or treating with their kids back then -- the world was still free range. It wasn’t so bad though because we still scored lots of candy (along with a few dimes plunked onto the pushke).
Oh my, we had liberal bleeding heart MOMs! Hooray! It was interesting, cause for the kids, there was a bit of this, “you should sacrifice your indulgent candy-loving appetites for the less fortunate” — which was much harder for the kids than any notions of “communism on the march.” You know, when my mom died and i went through her old papers, I found every job she had (mostly teaching and library work) had “anti-communist pledges” she had to sign to get the job, up until about 1972. The language is atrocious, real exploitation to the max!
I had to sign a loyalty oath before joining the Teamsters in 1974 or 75. Something like 'I am not now nor have I ever been in and organization that seeks to overthrow the U.S. government." I was a raving revolutionary, so I fibbed.
For some reason in my small-town conservative Virginia tract development we had UNICEF night every year the night before Trick or Treat night. UNICEF issued these specially printed little milk cartons that we used to collect spare change for hungry children door to door. We all did it and I don't remember any anti-communism. Not sure why
Thank you for this aching and illuminating writing. Life is so like that. I'm sorry for all the boxes and bites. I hate that most of us walk through those moments. I love how clever you were to look at all the holes and how we feel about something going in them. We had a little hole in the floor of our VW bug too. I also loved watching the road rush by! And we played in the very back "cubby" ~ how did we fit? We were so small.
UNICEF and the Commonists! A shared memory. When I was about five or six, circa 1955 in Houston, my mom instructed my sister and me that it was OK to carry our paper bags for candy when we trick or treated but we should nominally decline the sweets at first offering and say we actually wanted dimes for UNICEF. I was pretty intimidated when people who answered their doors to these tiny girls in pillow cases with eye holes, said the same thing about UNICEF, and just as irately, as that principal did to your mom. It was maybe scarier for us because adults didn’t go trick or treating with their kids back then -- the world was still free range. It wasn’t so bad though because we still scored lots of candy (along with a few dimes plunked onto the pushke).
Oh my, we had liberal bleeding heart MOMs! Hooray! It was interesting, cause for the kids, there was a bit of this, “you should sacrifice your indulgent candy-loving appetites for the less fortunate” — which was much harder for the kids than any notions of “communism on the march.” You know, when my mom died and i went through her old papers, I found every job she had (mostly teaching and library work) had “anti-communist pledges” she had to sign to get the job, up until about 1972. The language is atrocious, real exploitation to the max!
I had to sign a loyalty oath before joining the Teamsters in 1974 or 75. Something like 'I am not now nor have I ever been in and organization that seeks to overthrow the U.S. government." I was a raving revolutionary, so I fibbed.
You little fibber! Lol
For some reason in my small-town conservative Virginia tract development we had UNICEF night every year the night before Trick or Treat night. UNICEF issued these specially printed little milk cartons that we used to collect spare change for hungry children door to door. We all did it and I don't remember any anti-communism. Not sure why
Thank you for this aching and illuminating writing. Life is so like that. I'm sorry for all the boxes and bites. I hate that most of us walk through those moments. I love how clever you were to look at all the holes and how we feel about something going in them. We had a little hole in the floor of our VW bug too. I also loved watching the road rush by! And we played in the very back "cubby" ~ how did we fit? We were so small.
Sending love from one touched human to another.
I love being in the Bug Club with you. Thank you
My candy!!!