PHOENIX, Md. — For David Rabinowitz, Halloween is go big or go home.
“What I really like is movement and talking and lights," Rabinowitz said.
All of it is to bring joy.
“I love to watch the kid’s faces. I love to watch the faces of some of the parents because some of the kids are only like three or four years old and they’re carrying them down here and they’re walking along here and all of a sudden the kid sees this moving haunted man over here that goes 'I see you found me'."
That joy comes during a time when he's going through hardships of his own, battling bladder cancer since 2016.
“It was just on the surface, on the inside, and they just put some special immunotherapy stuff in there for a couple hours and then they said okay that’ll be that."
After years of check ups and a short remission, the cancer came back and grew to stage 2.
“I get fatigued because my red blood cells and white blood cells are low on oxygen and all the stuff that chemo does to you. And I’m getting a little forgetful, just getting tired. And I’m the kind of guy who used to work 18 hour days, a blue collar guy. And, so it really bothers me that I don’t have the energy that I used to have.”
Through it all, he continues to have a positive outlook on life.
"I think it has a lot to do with wanting to stay alive. And I want to, so that's what I'm doing."
His focus on bringing joy to others through a laughing witch or inflatable pumpkin is a welcome light in his life.
“It distracts you from that, otherwise you’re going to sit there and feel sorry for yourself, and I don’t. I’m great and Happy Halloween to everybody.”
He welcomes kids to come see his decorations and come back again for his Christmas display.
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