Halloween Memories, Pt. 2

The guests are gone, my friend decided to throw a garage sale instead of packing and didn't need my help today, the laundry's going, and I'm trying to get somewhat organized. I remember some of you wanted to see some of our past costumes, so here are a few:


Asher and Sarah (my nephew and niece). Ash is an 'Ashbot' my brother constructed from bits and pieces in his garage....Sarah was in love with fairies that year...


Brother Steve as Calvin in his spaceship from the comic strip 'Calvin and Hobbes'


I guess dad can't think of anything scarier than Richard Nixon, because this was the second time he went as the former 'tricky dick.' My 'Mummy' -- even mummies like triskets; wonder how she's going to eat them?


Excy the night he was 'the ghoul in the road' (see earlier post). Thankfully he has finally quit smoking -- that was what I found truly scary!

Okay -- short story: after college I wanted to roam out west and I wanted to learn to snow ski. I ended up in Alta, UT. I liked it so much I stayed a few seasons. My then-boyfriend was a photographer. One Halloween we got a gig photographing guests at a fancy ski lodge opening in Park City. Salt Lake City was just down the valley. In UT, the Osmonds are local royalty. I was still in UT when Marie Osmond got married, and the experience was akin to Princess Di's nuptials -- all manner of media, withTV coverage on all local channels, streets cleared for a big parade to the crystal cathedral (or whatever that monstrosity is called), people all excited about watching the procession -- businesses and shops closed for the occasion -- Anyway, at this Halloween party, around midnight, Donny Osmond appears, dressed head to toe in white -- tuxedo, cape, shoes -- I go up to him brandishing the camera and ask him who he's supposed to be. Dude got so offended. He drew himself up and kind of tossed his hair and said, "I'M Donny Osmond!" He was so indignant I didn't have the heart to tell him I knew who he was, I was just yanking his chain.

There was also a fortune-teller there who told me I wouldn't be ending up with that particular boyfriend (I didn't) and that the world was going to end 'soon' (this was in 1981; I guess I should've pressed more on her definition of 'soon.')

Halloween Memories

When I was growing up our neighborhood teemed with kids around my age. On the other end of the spectrum were widowed older ladies who doted on children. It was a veritable gold-mine situation on holidays - Halloween in particular. Halloween night meant about five or six 'haunted houses.' We youngsters were already jacked up from parties at school, where we dressed in our costumes for that night and exchanged candy, and ate the cupcakes and cookies bought for the classroom. That night we seldom ate dinner, just picked at our meal and anticipated popcorn balls, mulled cider, candied and caramel apples, and CANDY galore that we were allowed to shovel to our bag by the fist-full. One house handed out rolls of shiny quarters!

Dad being an architect meant he liked to put his creative bent into some of our earlier costumes, before we got old enough to choose our own outfits. One Halloween I remember towing a white cardboard church as tall as a trike behind me. It had 'stained glass' windows we made from ironing crayon shavings between layers of wax paper pressed together. (Turned out great). The church was illuminated by a large flashlight positioned inside, which made the windows glow as I trailed it behind me while it rolled along on a wheeled platform.

Another Halloween when I was nine, he turned me into a cardinal (the bird), with large cardboard cutout wings with feathers attached and a paper mache head it took a few weeks to create. It was quite effective. I ended up hating that costume. The head was cumbersome and hot, and I couldn't see well through the 'beak.' And at every stop I was retained by adoring blue hairs, "Fred! Fred come see! And get the camera!" As my gang flitted away to the next house, I had to skip a few houses to race to join up with them a few houses ahead. Curses! I moaned everytime I was oohed and aahhed over. This costume was donated to our children's theater's costume department afterwards. From that time on, I have never worn another mask of any kind.