The Slice: This year might really be a treat

So maybe you don’t get much trick-or-treat action where you live and you are thinking about leaving your porch light off and sitting it out this Halloween.

That’s up to you. But here are a few things to consider.

• You might miss seeing a face-painted 3-year-old in a homemade lion costume stare up at you with an expression that says “I hope you know what’s going on here, because I’m really in the dark.”

• Do you want to be seen as locking arms with the anti-Halloween forces that make you scoff?

• Even if you don’t get much trick-or-treat action, being a cheerful dispenser of candy can do wonders for your image in the neighborhood.

• If you occasionally get huge, uncostumed teenagers, you can just shut down your operation early.

• This could be the year you see a decent turnout.

• Better buy more candy.

Today’s close encounter with a rodent: Judith Brown still remembers this from childhood.

“I’m 71 and grew up in California east of San Francisco where the climate during the summer was a lot like Spokane, dry and arid. It was still very much the country with lots of orchards, field mice and, of course, woodpile cats. A lot of the homes were converted summer homes, not meant to keep the weather or the critters out.

“One morning I was getting ready to fix my breakfast. I put a piece of bread in the toaster and reached above to get out the cereal. I opened the cabinet door and out popped a mouse right into the toaster. Well, it came out of it as fast as it went in and hit the floor running. My mother grabbed the broom and was in hot pursuit out the front door along with the dog and cat. Of course, she was still in her bathrobe.

“It was a while before anyone wanted toast.”

Warm-up question: Let’s say you follow someone on Twitter and that person follows you back. What if your spouse or significant other then follows that individual but the person in question does not follow him or her back. Do you unfollow that person?

Today’s Slice question: Ever have to cope with a truly cold Halloween night as a child?