Well, enough of that heavy political stuff. Today is Halloween, so how about we have some fun? Just to start things off, here’s a meme I found over at SamuraiFrog’s place:
- What were you last year for Halloween?
A Star Wars fanboy. Totally unexpected, I know. Seriously, The Girlfriend and I were invited to a Star Wars-themed party the night before we were to leave for the big fam-damn-ily Disneyland trip. We spent much of the day packing and preparing for the trip, and we planned to get up ridiculously early to catch our flight, so we didn’t really have time to invest in anything good. The solution? I wore one of my many Star Wars t-shirts and called it good. - What are you going to be this year?
Nothing tonight, but for a party last weekend I put together an Indiana Jones outfit, accessorized with a light-up skull prop and a toy gopher. (Do you get the point of the gopher? Nobody seems to get the gopher… I thought it was clever…) - Favorite costume you have ever worn?
One year I got this skull mask that you glued to your face with spirit gum; it was supposed to mirror your facial expressions, but as soon as I got into the cold October night air, the damn thing stiffened up and pulled away from my skin, so it ended up being just a mask. Anyway, I wore that mask, a gray wig that my mom ratted up into something resembling 80s-vintage Tina Turner, and my Dracula cape from a couple years before. The overall effect was something like The Phantom of the Opera; whatever I was, it was spooky and, at that time and in this place, sufficiently exotic that I got lots of attention. I even had a guy, after he’d given me a treat, insist that I wait on his porch while he went and found his camera.
As my loyal readers can no doubt surmise, I’ve still got the mask somewhere… - How do you spend your Halloween?
The last few years have been kind of strange and I haven’t been home for various reasons, but usually The Girlfriend and I just watch a couple horror flicks by candlelight… - Are you or are you not going trick or treating this year?
I am not. I’m a little on the old side and I don’t need the candy anyhow… - Did or do you pull Halloween pranks?
I don’t like pranks. I don’t like feeling foolish myself and I feel bad when I make other people feel that way. - Do you believe in ghosts?
Nah. Every year, the local Fox News guys do the same old story on the Utah ghost hunters and the supposedly haunted buildings around the valley, and they play audio recordings of alleged ghosts saying “get out” and other creepy such stuff, and every year I shake my head all through the spot and think over and over, “bull.” - Are you superstitious?
Nope. Closest thing to a superstition I’ve ever had was my habit of not shaving before final exams during my freshman year of college. - Do you like caramel popcorn?
Not especially. Probably because the one year I got a popcorn ball in my trick-or-treat bag, the damn thing was as solid as concrete and impossible to eat. - Have you ever gone in the country to look for pumpkins?
Not exactly. I grew up in the country so it’s never been hard to find pumpkins. My family even grew our own a couple of years. Nowadays, there are a couple of nearby “pumpkin patches” (they’re hay or corn fields a good part of the growing season, and truckloads of pumpkins are brought in at the start of October) where I get my jack-o-lantern fodder. - Have you ever been on a hayride?
No, I don’t think so. - Do you decorate your home for Halloween?
Not anymore. My mom always made a big production out of it when I was younger, but since I’ve been living on my own, I never seem to get around to it. - Have you ever been to a haunted house?
If you’re talking a “haunted attraction,” sure, many times. Going to the March of Dimes Haunted Old Mill used to be a family tradition when I was a kid. As for a “real” haunted house, i.e., an old house that’s supposedly infested with ghosts (which, you’ll recall, I don’t believe in), no. Although there is an old place down the street from me that all the kids I grew up with used to think was haunted. But doesn’t every town have one of those? - Have you ever been to a graveyard on Halloween?
Nope. - Have you ever attended a Halloween party?
Of course. Went to two of them last Saturday. - Do you watch scary movies on Halloween?
Yep. See item #4. - Have you ever had your candy stolen from you?
Not that I recall, but I did have the shit scared out of me by some older kids one year while I as trick-or-treating. I think that experience is partly why I so dislike pranks. - Did you ever steal any ones candy?
Of course not… do unto others and all that. - Has anyone ever gotten hurt due to your prank?
I don’t do pranks, remember? Item #6? - Have you ever dressed as a witch/warlock?
Nope. I was always more of a vampire type, and anyhow when I hear the term “warlock,” I always think of Uncle Alfred on Bewitched. - Are your parents into Halloween?
Very much. As I said, Mom used to decorate the house, Dad loved to take me and my friends to the haunted houses, and now they host an annual Halloween party at their timeshare condo. And that’s not even mentioning the wild projects that Dad so often dreams up, like the time he turned my ’63 Galaxie into a drivable replica of the Titanic…
