This kid in the yellow raincoat has been standing on the side of the road for a couple of years it seems.

I rememeber it was around this time last year when I was driving from Newburgh to Poughkeepsie. I was on a road called Tuckers Corners Rd. Its a windy road, with a few twists and turns.

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Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
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This one particular day, I was driving along, and as I came around the corner I quickly turned the wheel, to avoid hitting what I thought was a small child standing by the road.

Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
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I remember being startled, thinking I almost ran down a young boy in a raincoat with my car. What was the boy doing there standing at the edge of the road just beyond a dangerous turn? Where were the parents? Why was he wearing a raincoat? These were all questions that popped in my head after the near collision had occured. I decided to go back and get a closer look. Things just didn't seem right to me.

Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
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When I went back I realized that it wasn't a real kid at all. It was a dummy in a raincoat donning what appeared to be a Michael Myers mask from the Halloween movies. What was the story here? I was perplexed.

Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
Photo credit: The Rutigliano Archives
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As it turns out, the kid in the raincoat is part of a Halloween display. It went over my head initially. Doh! At first, the display was just the kid in the yellow raincoat with a red balloon near by. (When I saw the red ballooon I was no longer perplexed. I knew what was up here.) It looks like the display was updated recently with the addition of a scary clown pinned to a telephone pole.

The story of the kid in the yellow raincoat is from Stephen King's "It" and it revolves around a character named Georgie Denbrough. Georgie is a young boy who, in the opening chapter, is playing with a paper boat his older brother, Bill, made for him. The boat is designed to sail in the rain, and Georgie eagerly takes it out on a stormy day.

As he chases the boat down the street, it gets caught in a storm drain. When Georgie reaches in to retrieve it, he encounters Pennywise the Clown, who lures him in with promises of fun and treats. Tragically, this encounter ends in Georgie's death, marking the beginning of the novel's exploration of childhood fears and the malevolent force that preys on children in the town of Derry, Maine.

Georgie's fate serves as a catalyst for the story, setting the stage for the other characters, known as the Losers' Club, who eventually confront Pennywise years later. His bright yellow raincoat symbolizes innocence and vulnerability, making his tragic end even more poignant in the narrative.

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So there ya have it, in case you were wondering what the story was with the young boy in the yellow raincoat standing at the edge of the road all this time in Highland, NY. A permananent Halloween display apparently (Or perhaps just a good way to get cars driving by to slow down! LOL) We hope we solved this mystery for you. Happy Halloween!

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