Page 25

By Jack Joseph Smith

25 It was almest Christmas and I was sitting on the fleer by the fire- rememberg ing the three of us damne-watching the children come and ge on Halloween; and colleeting sweets~in their moment of eel ets There they were-in the fire- leaning «under-their capessand'many layered silk costumes, as:they waited in: our déorway for enterance to their reward forse kindly passing- ever evil and pleasently ringing ‘our doorbells -They had ceme from alliever; and seme leeked peorer than ethers’ These -with ee eentes were ‘usually frem one of the mill’ towns, , that surrounded’ Mount ‘Lebaneni Senotinea thar perentenwauld ask _ dimension 6 them to take-their masks off, and I would'see shapes-end tonessend dementigns: in the oyeny that’ I was-not femiliar ‘withs' It was-like their masks:were-really an extention of their ewn souls” My mother-had’ given them home made~candy there was . applessand ‘sweet bars; and store bought candy that they could cheose from, My memory watched ‘them in the fire dencging inm-and out ef the night, with a- shadowed light'from the fire-place-and’ pumpkins: reaching out’te their facesé' Now, there were-lote of older people coming in and out of our home, Business friends-of my father-weuld bring gifte-for me-and lay them on the fleer by the« Christmas -trees gkeit they were-bigger; they would’ stand’ them up in: the-middle~ of “the tising-reans thertens lokel utr descvtg-iaye on Thanksgiving; . when: my Pather-would stand’ in the kitchen drinking and laughing -abeut the- turkeys’ Are-we-hawing- lets of Turkey mom? | Oh yes-Michael; there-will be plenty of “Turkeys Like om Thanksgiving? Didtyou like the Thanksgiving -turkey? Yess Well this onds-even a bigger: ones

Original Scan

Page 25

AI Interpretation

GPT

Christmas gathering begins to overtake Halloween and Thanksgiving as the child remembers masked trick-or-treaters, business friends bringing gifts, and household talk about the size of the coming turkey.

Holiday memory is layered rather than separate, so costumes, candy, pumpkins, Thanksgiving dinner, and stacked gifts all pass through the same firelit room. Class difference is noticed almost casually in the faces behind the masks, which gives the festive scene a sharper social edge.


Claude

The Halloween memory of masked children as extensions of their own souls folds into preparations for Christmas, father drinking and laughing about the turkey, business friends arriving with gifts too big to wrap.