All I Got Was a Rock....

It’s funny how Halloween creeps up and I always surprise myself by realizing, out of the blue, how much I dig this holiday. It’s like I forget each year then all of the sudden, I remember right around the end of September. For the past few years, I’ve gotten out of the rhythm of the holiday but thanks to two very energetic kids, I am back in the swing of things.

It should not be a surprise to me but I find it interesting just how much Halloween has changed since I was a kid way back in the seventies. This Fall Festival crap irritates me. There is nothing demonic about Halloween. It’s just an excuse to get candy and pretend to be someone else. And pretend I have but that’s later.

Remember these? At least the costumes have improved since we were kids. It was always an exciting trip down to Woolworth’s to pick out the selection for that year. I don’t know why I got so excited. The mask was hard to breathe through and my tongue would get caught in the mouth slit. That damn elastic band would always break. The suit was basically a vinyl jumpsuit designed to hold in sweat so by the end of the night, I was drenched.

To add insult to injury, all of those old costumes would have the character’s name printed somewhere on the chest with a cheesy logo. This always irked me for some reason. I have a big red “S” on my chest who could I be? Nixon? I’ve got black mouse ears with silk screened red shorts and buttons? I must be Daffy Duck. I don’t walk around town with an action scene painted on my chest under a big stenciled “ROBBY,” so why would the Six Million Dollar Man? My dad said it was to help out the stupid kids but in retrospect I think he was dodging the question.

While some of the social restraints are a bit silly, at least the costumes have improved. Some are even worthy of being on the silver screen or Broadway. Veronica’s Vampire Queen is down-right chilling how gothic it’s turned out. Jude is going as Han Solo and his costume looks like a tiny Harrison Ford dropped it off in the closet.

I am going as Chewbacca and I am very excited. At first I thought it was because of the whole “kids” thing but that’s only part of it. It’s actually a little more selfish than that. For the first time in several years, I am excited about Halloween because I have somewhere to go and someone to be with. Three some ones to be exact and it’s given me renewed sense of purpose.

Right when I got to be too old for Halloween, Mary came along and we used to make her costumes. I had forgotten how much fun I used to have making stuff for her amusement. Last Saturday, I spent most of it building a holster for Jude’s blaster. I loved every minute of it. As soon as I am done typing this, I start work on my Chewbacca bandolier. I had forgotten how creative I can be when I get started and I thank Kim and the kids for kick starting me. This part of me has been dormant for way too long.

So what’s next? Kim told me about a gingerbread house contest at the Westin for the holidays and I keep getting a vision of a Popcorn ball boulder chasing gingerbread Indiana Jones through an Aztec Burial chamber of licorice.  Just keeps getting interesting.

A Long Time Ago With a Family Not So Far Away......

         

 It was the summer of 1977 and Mom, Dad, and I were visiting our Uncle George in glamorous Claxton, Ga. Little did I know that my life was about to change in the fruitcake capital of the world. When I was little I always enjoyed hanging out at Uncle George because I thought his teenage daughter was really cool. That would change but that happens much later.

          During the game she began to talk about this new movie that had come out and I should consider seeing. It was called Star Wars and was a cool sci-fi adventure. Maria went into great detail explaining how the villain Darth Vader had a laser sword and was hunting our heroes. At the end, was a climatic space battle. There was even a wise cracking space pirate with his pet ape. I was hooked and have never bothered to cut that hook out of my mouth since that day.



What is so sad is that I still want my room to look like this.



To say I liked Star Wars as a kid was an understatement. Every poster I could find, I’d spend my allowance on to hang up in my room. I cut the promo pictures of the toy and cereal boxes to decorate. I kept very special care of all the toys and to this day, have them all including their tiny guns. I dreamed of being Han Solo and flying the Millennium Falcon through my own version of the Kessel Run. It was a great time for my imagination.

          As I got older, I never really parted ways with Star Wars in spite of Lucas’s many attempts to rape my childhood. It may not be my favorite movie but it’s certainly had the most influence on me and my love of cinema. It amazes me to see how this particular movie has touched so many people and not just the geeks like me. This is a pop culture, mainstream phenomena.  

          I get to relive all this now that kids are in my life. My often mentioned sidekick, Jude, has got me watching  the saga again. I love it. I forgot the simplest idea of enjoying Star Wars over the past 30 years. It’s best viewed with kids.

          Jude and Ronnie kept asking great questions and some actually made me think. I was also surprised to see how scary The Empire Strikes Back was from their level. Mary and my old friend, David Dowd, got to sit in on that viewing. All in all, it’s proving to be an amazing viewing experience.  

So Halloween is looming and Jude is still on this Han Solo kick that seems all too familiar. He has decided that seeing that we are best friends just like Han and his co-pilot Chewbacca, it makes sense we dress as them. I am thrilled and also amazed at how much delight I had searching for a Chewbacca outfit. Thanks, Ebay!

This is more fitting that it shoudl be....

          The only problem is that Chewie’s bandolier looks really cheap so I have decided to not only make a blaster holster for Jude to wear on his just like his favorite space pirate but now I am also making a homemade bandolier. Once again the internet surprises me with its resources and creative URL names. Who knew there was a www.making wookie.com?

          So to recap, I get to relive not one but three favorite experiences of childhood. I am digging watching my favorite space opera with my new family while at the same time getting psyched about making costumes for a favorite holiday that I have not gotten to enjoy for a few years. Now if I can only get a certain hot mom of said children to agree to trick or treat as slave girl, Leia, as seen in Return of the Jedi,  I’ll be ready to make my own “Life is Good” shirt.