I used to think to myself......out of all the great Holidays, my birthday had to fall two days before Halloween. The night of monsters, "It" being played on TV, and Chucky the gleeful killer being its emblem. In fact, I remember one Halloween night, my parents were watching TV and I was just messing about in my room. Then suddenly they call me down to watch Child's Play. In their naivenss, they thought it was a children's program, and that a talking doll was cute. It was cute until it went on a rampage and started killing everyone.
Once I learned Halloween also entailed dressing up in a costume, my liking for it began to increase. Thus, my first year in America, I choose the most generic costume: a black cape (it was suppose to be Dracula's cape considering one side of it was blood red), a sleeping mask (courtesy of Northwest airlines, actually, all airlines provide this if you ever take a plane) with two eye holes cut out, a wooden sword pieced together using bits of wood found in field. So what does this make???? Any guesses????*
Once you have the costume, it's candy begging time. It's more effective if you have a little kid tag along with you. People tend to give little children more candy. Once they see you with a little child, they think of you as a caring older guardian (I was already 12 at the time).....if not, you could always steal the little kid's candy. The first year went great, and I got a ton of candy. Next year, puberty hit, and I was 5 ft 7. It's harder to blend then. I thought I was getting too old for candy now, but somehow, my parents and friends convinced me to go trick or treating one more time. Only this time, it wasn't around the neighborhood, but at the mall. Boy was that one of the most embarrassing events of my life. Not only did I tower over everyone else over there, the shop owners were giving me weird looks. I didn't have a little kid with me this time, so I got a lot less candy. The shop owners in the mall all had the same expression on their faces when I came up to them: Aren't you a little too old to be trick or treating?
By the end, my face was burning with embarrassment....thank goodness for the mask because my face would have looked like a red tomato underneath. Ahhhh....memories.....this still remains one of my favorites, and third most embarrassing event of my life. I bet you want to know what the first two don't ya???? I'll give you a hint.....one happened during 7th grade health class.....you can use your imagination from this point on......
I told my mom the cape was for Dracula but she insisted it was for Zorro....so I went out as Zorro....I did have the top hat too, so I guess it works
