Hats off to Robeson County’s first responders, the Sheriff’s Office, police departments, the county’s public library system, and anyone and everyone who had a hand in making sure our young residents, and their families, could put on their costumes and have a little Halloween fun this past weekend.

The youngsters may have been forced by pandemic-related restrictions to do their trick-or-treating while sitting in a vehicle, but at least the youngsters were able to don their favorite Halloween finery, see holiday-themed decorations, be greeted by “monsters” and other spooky-fun characters, and get candy. In other words, children whose worlds have been made smaller and uncertain got to get out of the house and have a good time.

Thank you, sincerely, to all the people and agencies that made the dozens of trunk or treat events scattered across the county on Saturday, and the county Public Library’s Candy Crawl on Friday, happen. The children needed that dose of fun, as did the many Halloween-loving adults who drove the children to the events and the children-at-heart who dressed up, manned the displays and helped bring a smile to many faces, young and old.

Halloween is now behind us, unless you ate too much candy and still are suffering from the related stomach aliments. If you are an adult and that’s the case: You knew better.

Now we can look forward to Thanksgiving.

You say you don’t know what that is? Your forgetfulness is forgivable. It falls on the fourth Thursday of every November and once was a major holiday during which families came together, gave thanks for their many blessings and ate too much. Sadly, it’s now a holiday blip squeezed in between Halloween and Christmas. Where Thanksgiving once merited its own advertising blitz, at least for a week, it now barely gets a nod during a Christmas advertising campaign that starts in mid-October.

The holiday was created Oct. 3, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln as another way to express gratitude for the pivotal Union Army victory at Gettysburg. Lincoln declared the nation would celebrate an official Thanksgiving holiday on Nov. 26, 1863.

One hundred fifty-seven years later we may not have a Thanksgiving at all, and not just because people and businesses will rush by it on their way to Christmas. This year it may receive its death blow from COVID-19 and all the resulting restrictions. Health officials already are warning us that big family gatherings — you remember, the holiday’s hallmark — are a bad idea. They say a Thanksgiving feast might become a virus superspreader.

Anyone in North Carolina may have to plan ahead if they want to bring the extended family together to break bread and give thanks, that is if the governor decides to further extend his restrictions on gatherings. You might want to consider renting space at a campground in a state with more lenient, or no, restrictions and have everyone meet there.

Of course, if predictions made by some political observers and activists come true, COVID-19 won’t be an issue in a couple weeks. All the absentee ballots cast in this year’s general election will be counted, the election results will be certified and there will be no further need to use the pandemic to manipulate the populace into voting one way or another.