67th: Detract not from others, neither be excessive in commanding. Yesterday's Entries 2000: The Creative Process CURRENTLY READING Trace
by Patricia Cornwell
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GHOST OF HALLOWEEN PAST 31 October 2004 I thought about writing an entry about how much I hate Halloween, but then discovered I did that back in 2001. It's a good piece. You should read it, if you haven't, she says, modestly. For the last couple of years, we haven't had to face Halloween, because we've gone to a party at Larry and Steve's house, where we gathered with friends from the Davis Comic Opera Co.. Those who wanted came in mini-costumes, Larry donned his monk's habit, and those who wanted to see little kids in costume took turns doling out treats to the little ghosts and goblins. This year, Steve is directing a show and doing that and hosting a party is a bit much, so there will be no party at Steve and Larry's. I thought about trying to deal with trick-or-treaters and Sheila and decided that leaving the lights turned off and the door locked was the best way to handle it. I've become the Ebenezer Scrooge of Halloween. However, 'twas not ever thus. The Ghost of Halloween Past reminds me that there was a time when I really enjoyed it. The party we threw when I was in grammar school, for example.
My father made several figures, such as the scarecrow here, and a large group of kids from my school came, including Stephen, who lived around the corner. In later years, my father would complain that I "never appreciated" all of his work enough. But I did. Everybody really thought the decorations were great. (My costume? I was a gypsy--you can't see the long dangly earrings.) It was always fun when the kids were little. For Jeri's first Halloween, I made her a ghost costume.
Never let it be said that I am not creative, or that I spared any expense in creating elaborate costumes for our children! I probably hit the peak of my creativity with Jeri's costume. In subsequent years, we usually went for the cheap plastic store-bought variety.
Unfortunately Tom has his own baby book now, so I can't copy one of my favorite costumes. It was the year before this one, when David was too young to care and the other boys were all super heroes. Ned was Superman (of course), Paul was Batman, and Tom was Diaperman. I dressed him in pink and blue (tights and leotard).
I usually let them eat as much as they wanted on Halloween night and then tried to get rid of the rest (after taking all the best stuff for myself, of course. Bad mom!) There is also another wonderful photo of Tom in his baby book where he'd fallen asleep in his pile of candy. This picture of David is very cute, though. It was his first Halloween and he looked like he'd died and gone to heaven, having all this unexpected candy. We had a good time the year that Pujol, our first high school exchange student, stayed with us. He had been invited to a party and had never dressed up before, so the kids helped him create a costume.
We also had a great time when Lawsuit put on a Halloween concert.
It was Paul's chance to wear gold lammé, but we always wondered how Jeri was able to play her horns...
So yeah, I guess over the years there have been fun Halloweens. But a lot of the thrill is gone with no little kids, no band, and no reason to celebrate. So this year we'll be hiding in the back of the house, leaving the front of the house dark, and hope that Sheila doesn't hear too many ghosts and goblins passing by our house during the evening.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Dr. G's house decorated for Halloween, 2 years ago |
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Created 10/15/04
My dissatisfaction with Halloween began
during the years when the kids went out trick or treating each year. We had the
problem of What To Do About The Candy. Did we let them eat all they wanted whenever
they wanted? Did we dole it out, day by day (thus having the daily fight about how
much candy they could eat and when). 
