A Songwriter's Journey

Halloween has always seemed somewhat odd to me as holidays go! Kids dress up as their favorite fictional character going house to house requiring payment of candy in exchange for not “tricking” the homeowners. But one Halloween, when I was only seven years old, gave me an early insight into the kindness of my fellow human beings…..
Second grade, fall of 1962, was life changing! Nine days into the school year I was swinging on our home swing set. I used to love to swing as high as I could – each time trying to see over the top of the swing set as I rose on the back side. I would often swing very high and then on the down swoop – jump straight ahead into the grass. It felt as if I was flying!
This particular day in early September, as I pumped my legs on the up swing to increase my speed, my right leg somehow caught on the ground underneath me and my right knee twisted horribly. Even writing about this I can still feel the excruciating pain in my mind. Mom used to say she heard me cry out from inside the house and immediately her heart seemed to stop.
I limped from the swing set into the house crying. My right knee had already started to swell. It wasn’t broken, but it didn’t need to be. With hemophilia, strains of any sort can cause bleeding into the joint, whether in an elbow, knee, hip or ankle.
Mom and Dad rushed me to the hospital where I would spend the rest of the year in and out of – sometimes for 30 days at a time. I can still remember the doctor saying I would never walk again. Well, he didn’t know me! I would show him!
In the midst of this turmoil something amazing happened at Halloween! While I was home in between hospital stays, being unable to walk I naturally could not go “Trick or Treating” with the other kids. That evening it broke my heart to watch Mom go to the door each time a new group of goblins and witches came to get candy. Dad had brought my mattress into the living room floor so I could watch television and though I felt self-conscious – I did want to see the goings on and not be left out.
Well, unknown to me a neighbor boy and friend, Tim Malone, had carried an extra bag with him. As he went door-to-door he explained about my knee and asked people if they would give extra candy so that I might have some for Halloween. When he showed up to give me the bag of candy, I was so surprised and happy! What Tim did for me in bringing the candy is one of the biggest acts of kindness I’ve experienced in my life. Wherever you are Tim, thank you so much!
As odd as Halloween has seemed to me, that unusual Halloween of 1962 will always be my favorite!!
Have a Happy and safe Halloween!!!
Dave