SIDE STREETS: I've been BOOed and you should too!
On Monday, my 10-year-old son, Ben, rang the doorbells of three neighbors, dropped a bag on each porch and ran before they answered. (Right now, you are probably thinking: “Just like his old man.”)
But these were not “poo bags” full of manure and set ablaze. And Ben was not tormenting the neighbors with the traditional childhood “ring and run” doorbell prank. (I used to prefer prank phone calls, before caller I.D. came along and ruined all the fun.)
Ben was dropping “BOO bags” and taking part in a growing national Halloween phenomenon called “BOO Your Neighbors.”
Essentially it’s a random act of kindness with a Halloween flair. Kind of a Secret Santa with skeletons.
We had been BOOed on Sunday, receiving a cool lighted skull and two packages of candy as well as some green fake fingers with long nails.
The next evening, it was our turn to do some BOOing. Ben delivered BOO bags containing Halloween pencils, toothbrushes, boxes of candy and lollipops. All the bags included “BOO Your Neighbors” window displays and a poem urging the recipients to “BOO” someone else.
The window display tells others that your house has been a “BOO” target so no one gets BOOed over and over. The idea is to spread the holiday fun.
Apparently, neighborhood BOOing has gone on several years. Rockrimmon Elementary School teacher Cheryl Munoz-Kammerer said her Discovery neighbors have BOOed each other for three years now. She said BOOing is harmless fun on a holiday historically known for more destructive pranks.
“We think it’s great,” Munoz-Kammerer said. “The kids love it. When they walk the dog, they scan for BOO slips on the doors of neighbors to figure out who we can BOO. And it turns them into little detectives trying to figure out who BOOed us.”
She said BOOing has spread fast this year, even showing up in classrooms.
A look online shows it is so big, you can buy “BOO bags” with variations of the poem and methods for BOOing your neighbor. You can also buy bags at stores.
In some areas, kids make their own BOO bags from paper lunch sacks and include craft items they created. Other places, they buy Halloween bags and toys. Still others fill small plastic pumpkins over and over. Kids empty the pumpkin, refill it with new candy and toys, and then pass it along.
Colorado Springs Police Lt. David Whitlock said his agency hasn’t heard any reports of neighborhood BOOing. But he said it would be preferred to typical Halloween activities. “This sounds like people are giving from their hearts. We’re in favor of that, certainly.”
You can find more details about BOO bags, BOO poems and more on my blog.
And remember, the key is delivering the bag anonymously.
So drop the bag and push the bell. Then turn around and run like . . . heck.
—
Read my blog updates at
gazette.com/blogs/sidestreets
