Dad would follow along in the car, as Mom would walk us house to house, stopping every so often to dump the booty in the car. When it got to the point when my sister was dragging her pumpkin bucket along behind her, which was pretty quick, trick or treat was over, much to my chagrin. When you’re in grade school, it’s all about the loot, and you quickly learn which houses had the “good” candy and which ones to avoid.
As we got older, costumes surpassed candy as the focal point of Halloween. The quest to find the perfect outfit began as soon as classes started while I was at the University of Dayton.
Country artist Eric Church told Great American Country his favorite costume was from his college days at Appalachian State: “We stopped at a costume place in Greensboro, North Carolina ... (that) had the full costume Sesame Street outfits. The real deal (with) feathers and fur. We were Elmo, Cookie Monster and I was Big Bird.”
Many years after college, my friends and I love Halloween costume parties. While my tastes don’t run to furry monsters, I do like to look good, but I can’t quite grasp the concept of the “sexy” versions of traditional characters.
On a recent trip to a costume store, I was perplexed by the “Mrs. Freddy Krueger,” “Mrs. Jason Vorhees” and “Sesame Street Sassy Elmo” costumes lining the walls.
If Elmo makes you feel sexy, perhaps a trip to a counselor is in order.
One year I successfully pulled off the Britney Spears’ “schoolgirl” look, not with my friends, who had no idea was I was doing, but with their children.
After that, I stuck more with my own generation, and this year drafted some of the aforementioned friends to go as Gene, Ace, Paul and Peter. You know, “rock ’n’ roll all night, and party every day!”
Happy Halloween!
Readers can contact Nancy Wilson, a morning-radio personality at WHKO-FM (K99.1), by email through k99online.com.
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