The smell of fall always makes me think of Halloween. It was Dad’s holiday with us. Mom would stay at home and hand out candy, but Dad would spend the night with us walking from spooky home to spooky home armed with a flash light and a taste for snickers bars.
The week before the big day we would all decorate the house. My parents should have worked in the theatre because they had a flare for the dramatic and could create the most amazing décor with just household items. The rock garden on the way up to the front door was our graveyard with scary & funny epitaphs.
A giant ghost swung from the roof of the porch to greet you, carved Jack-O-Lanterns, spider webs and more kept your senses akimbo in case something undead suddenly rushed by….
The icing on this candy corn was my tiny lady bug record player wedged in the front window of the kitchen. Turning on its face was the Disney World Haunted House 45. It may have been made by the mouse but it was scary as hell in the dark. Clearly there was a time before iPods, I am a product of this time and therefore direct you to wikipedia if you do not understand the concept of “record player” or “45”.
Costumes were NEVER store bought. No plastic masks, or cheap one size fits all. Actually, wait, I think maybe one year we did that, I was Mickey Mouse and my sister, Laura was Boo-Berry from cereal fame. However, those masks were unbearably hot and made your face sweat. Completely grossed out we never went that way again. Especially, since I think Laura ate off pieces of the mouth of her mask in order to stuff the candy into her eager little face.
Our costumes were either made for us or we crafted items we already had into Halloween gear. Some of my favorites were, the wolfman, Mom had an old shag wig and we used my Dad’s winter fur lined gloves (turned inside out of course) as my paws. Add some plastic fangs and grrrrrrr!!!
We’d do themed, costumes too, Peter Pan (me) & Tinker Bell (Laura), or Han Solo (me, more than once) and Princess Lea (Laura), I also went as Zorro for a number of years, and in high school actually had the nerve to go as Ira Gershwin. I may never have “come out” to my parents but HELLO how gay was I???
I just remember Mom making us a spooky dinner and Dad buzzing around for batteries, Laura and I about to pop over the candy carnage that would ensue. Dad loved watching over us and always had a, “What’cha get!” when we ran down from the house with out newly acquired booty. At homes with bowls of candy already out he never let us take more than one, it actually didn’t even occur to me to do that until I was wised up by older kids. Who would rape bowls with greedy hands and giant bags.
Of course now I still approach Halloween like I’m 10. There are years the costumes just come to me in a flash of genius while others are a little weaker. Some classics are The Magic 8 Ball, (now since retired due to threats from fellow gays that I am never allowed to do it again…hahahah) Mama Cass, (PJ’s and a Ham Sandwich around my neck with a big bite missing) of course people also thought I was a latch key kid but hey a funny dead celebrity pun is a funny dead celebrity pun.
This year might be close to perfection. It’s unexpected and will not be lost in the crowd of Joe the Plumbers, Sarah Palin’s and Jokers. Pictures will be posted so stay tuned my little blog babies I can’t wait to hear what you think…..
Happy Halloween!!!!
BOO!
