[gentle brass music]
- Juliet Jegasothy: We came to America in 1969.
We were just newly married
and we came to Brooklyn, New York.
And I was so terrified to even open the door
because I had heard all these horror stories
about crooks and gangsters and guns in New York.
So there was this one evening
that Brian was working the night
and I was alone with the baby,
and the doorbell started ringing.
And then I go and look through the peephole,
and it was like, a really scary person standing outside.
So I didn't open the door.
I told my baby to be quiet.
Then again, the doorbell rings, and this again,
I looked through the peephole, and I'm like, really scared.
Then the third time it rang, there were more than one person,
and they were all looking really scary
and screaming at me through the door.
So I called Brian on the phone and I said,
"There's something happening.
"There's some crooks or somebody trying to frighten me
at the door."
He said, "Don't open the door.
"Don't do anything.
Don't make a noise; be quiet."
So I stayed in the bedroom, and this went on and on
for almost an hour.
You know, all the years that I was growing up,
I was the most, I think, wimpy person.
I used to cry for everything.
So by now, I'm like, sweating and ready to die almost.
And then, Brian calls around 9 o'clock and he says,
"I think there's something called Halloween going on today
"and that's what has been happening.
People are supposed to come and ring the doorbell."
So that was a experience that I'll never forget.
And it turns out that my daughter loves Halloween.
["Halloween Surfer" by Peter Cottrial]