I was in Wal-Mart before Halloween and wandered by their seasonal aisle. Two 10 or 12 year boys were there looking at some kind of fencing with their parents, who stood nearby with about 10 tombstones in their cart. The younger boy says to the other, "We need a fence around our graveyard" as he holds up the fence section. The other boy says "Definitely". The mother says "That fence is kind of short, you won't see it." The father says "We need to get a fence like that guy on Main Street has, with the pickets and gargoyles on the columns." I stopped walking, came over, and introduced myself. It's nice to have fans!
After Christmas, I picked up two shopping carts of lights at 50% off. Two college age girls in line behind me asked if I was "that guy on Main Street with the over-the-top Christmas and Halloween displays?". When I admitted I was, they told me how cool they thought the Halloween display was. More fans!
I got some new neighbors one Spring, who had grade school children. One day there was a bad accident on the street and everyone came out to gawk. The new neighbor came over, introduced himself, and asked if I really gave out full sized candy bars for Halloween? When I admitted I did, he said his daughter came home from school one day and told him that one of her classmates told her that she had "the coolest ever Halloween house" near her, and the owner gives out full sized bars of candy. He said he was sure it was an exaggeration, but I confirmed the fact that I was an "extreme Halloween decorator" and did, in fact, give out full sized bars. I also told him we only get 30 or so TOTers, so it's not a huge expense to do it.
Craig