Window Painting

I grew up in the country, but I went to school in Elkhorn, starting in sixth grade. The city had a tradition of sponsoring a Halloween window decorating contest. School children would submit a small tempra painting, and some would be chosen to paint their designs on downtown business windows. It was invariably a cold day, and we'd stand outside with our sets of poster paint, water and rags and paint. Here I am, in fifth or sixth grade. I don't remember if I won any prizes for my little design, but I remember enjoying doing the painting and looking at others. It surprises me that I entered these contests, since I'm not much of an outdoor painter these days, and I'm reluctant to let strangers watch me work. But I didn't have any of those concerns in elementary school. I haven't seen an activity like this in a while. Maybe it's too too messy. Maybe children are busy with other activities. I don't know why the city discontinued having the schoolchildren paint ghosts and jack-o-lanterns on the storefronts, but it was a part of growing up in the 1950's and 1960's that I enjoyed.