![\"From](\"http:\/\/blog.keloland.com\/lund\/files\/2013\/10\/outhouse.jpg\")
<\/a>From the L@L file 10\/31\/09<\/p><\/div>\n
I certainly hope the statute of limitations applies here because I\u2019m about to confess to a crime from my youth that continues to haunt me more than any ghost or goblin ever could this time of year.
\nI\u2019m pretty sure it was in the fall of 1959 because I had reached that awkward age of 13 which meant I was too old to go trick or treating. That was the first of many lessons I would learn in my lifetime that getting older wasn\u2019t all that it was cracked up to be.
\nAnyway, my farm cousin was in town and he was none too pleased either about being shut off from the joys of going door to door extorting candy. So we conjured up a plan to hit the streets and wreak havoc around town. If we can\u2019t have treats..we said\u2026we\u2019re going to pull a few Halloween tricks. \u00a0Well, our bravado was strong until I sneaked up to a neighbor\u2019s shed in the alley. There were some boards stacked up against the building and a step ladder leaning against it. My plan was to carry them off and dump \u2018em in a neighbor\u2019s yard. That first foray into vandalism had my heart racing so fast I nearly fainted. I managed to toss a couple boards onto a nearby lawn and knock the ladder down when the back porch light came on and we exploded into a dead run fully expecting a load of buckshot in our backsides.
\nThen, just as quickly as it came, the terror left and we proceeded to work our way downtown to see if we could gang up with other pubescent teens roving the streets looking to make trouble.\u00a0 Sure enough, there were about 10 kids hanging out in front of the drug store and even though most of them were older, we were invited to tag along on their mission of mayhem.
\nAnything that wasn\u2019t fastened down or locked up was fair game to be tossed onto Kasan Avenue..our main street. It was littered for three blocks with garbage barrels, lawn chairs, bicycles, flower pots and firewood. Every time we\u2019d see the town cop, Ferman Feeney, we\u2019d take off running in different directions only to rendezvous back at the drug store..act as if nothing had happened and plan another raid. \u00a0Earlier, one of the guys \u00a0put a bag of poop on the front step of Mr. Holtz..the high school agriculture teacher..set it on fire, knocked on the door. We all ran like hell hoping to see him stomp out the flame and get feces on his shoe. Mr. Holtz, however, had obviously seen that prank before and just let the bag burn. He knew who the likely suspects were and would exact his revenge when he had them in study hall the next day. (Ferman Feeney eventually got tired of being outsmarted and out run by us rotten hooligans so he started deputizing members of the local Jaycee chapter on Halloween night which dramatically reduced the crime rate.)
\nBeing part of a gang of vandals was pretty cool, but you can only tip over so many back alley burn barrels before it gets sort of boring. That\u2019s when we spotted Pete driving up the street in his \u201949 Studebaker.
\nPete lived on a farm west of town. He was three years older than us but we\u2019d known each other all our lives so when we hollered for him to stop..he did and we piled in.
\nWe couldn\u2019t wait to tell him about all the evil activities we\u2019d been up to..littering the streets, soaping windows and dodging Feeney.
\nPete just laughed and shook his head. \u201cThat\u2019s nothing.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cWhen I was your age, we used to go around the country on Halloween night tipping over outhouses.\u201d \u00a0\u201cNow that\u2019ll put the fear of god into ya.\u201d He said
\nWhoa..that\u2019s big time vandalism compared to our little petty offenses.
\n\u201cYeah,\u201d I said, \u201c too bad nobody has outdoor cans anymore. That\u2019d be fun.\u201d
\n\u201cOh, there are still a few around,\u201d Pete said, \u201cbut most of \u2018em are outta town. You wanna check \u2018em out?\u201d
\nMy mind said, good grief NO..what if we got caught?\u00a0This is reform school stuff.But instead I blurted out, \u201check yeah.\u201d And we headed toward the country school just down the road from my cousin\u2019s place.
\nWe drove by slowly on the gravel road making sure there was nobody\u00a0behind the school building guarding the biffy.
\n\u201cWe gotta be careful,\u201d Pete said. \u201cI\u2019ve heard of people moving the privy a few feet off the hole so if a vandal approached with intentions of tipping it, he\u2019d fall right into the pit. That\u2019d be tough to explain to mom on wash day.\u201d
\nPete pulled his Studebaker into the driveway, shut off the lights and whispered..let\u2019s go.
\nI have never been as excited and afraid at the same time as I was at that moment. We crouched down as if sneaking up on a German machine gun nest. Then Pete said, \u201cOn three\u2026one, two, three\u2026we all gave a mighty shove and over she went with a thud.
\nThe dirty deed done, we flew back to the car and sped off in a cloud of dust.
\nThe next day I was sick to my stomach at the thought of somebody having to clean up the mess we caused.
\nAll those hours sitting in church and Sunday school..wasted.
\nAll the hopes and dreams my parents had for their son to be a \u201cgood boy\u201d ..dashed.
\nI wish now, I\u2019d have summoned up the courage to confess my crimes right there and then..but I didn\u2019t, of course..and it\u2019s pretty late now.\u00a0Perhaps 50 years of guilt and shame I feel\u00a0each Halloween is punishment enough.<\/p>\n
Oh, for a little post-Halloween fun..come join us at the Downtown Holiday Inn Friday night in Sioux Falls as Mogen’s Heroes celebrates 35 years of making music. Lots of your favorite songs, singers and players will be stopping by and a donation helps my favorite charity the Salvation Army. Hope to see you there!<\/p>\n