Halloween is about costumes, candy

Halloween is just 30 days away.
Scary, I know.
Halloween was always one of my favorite holidays. It involved two things that I really enjoy: costumes and candy. I’ve always been a very shy, self-conscious and soft-spoken person. But something about putting on a costume is very liberating.
Some of my earliest memories are of pinning on a bath towel and pretending to be Batman or putting on a cheap straw hat and being a cowboy. Sometimes I’d be Captain Kirk or Luke Skywalker.
Being the oldest of three boys, I was always the main hero whenever we pretended to be various characters. I was never Robin or Tonto or the bad guy. I had to be the hero. I think my siblings may still harbor some resentment over that. But I make no apologies – age does have its privileges.
As a little kid, my mother always made a big deal about the day we would go to Kmart and get our costumes. She would announce the day weeks in advance and let the anticipation build. Of course we would look at ads in the newspapers and even browse the costume isle at Kmart to figure out exactly what we wanted to be.
I don’t know why we got so excited about those flimsy plastic suits with the face masks held on by an elastic band. We just did. I recall one time being wet-your-pants excited about being the Road Runner. I was so proud of that costume. I must have taken it out of the box a dozen times a day and showed it off to everyone that came to the house.
Of course, the costumes – if they survived Halloween night – were usually damaged within a week and trashed and forgotten not long after that.
One of the certainties I could count on was having it snow or be very cold on Halloween night in Colorado. Too often, the prized outfit was covered up under a jacket. While that dampened my spirit, I was quickly cheered by the gobs of candy we accumulated going door to door. There is nothing like a sugar high to take your mind off of the great costume that nobody got to see.
In the sixth grade I went as Captain Kirk. Only, I wore my Star Trek shirt so often that no one realized I was actually in costume. And being on crutches because of a sprained ankle didn’t help.
As with most kids, the older I got, the less interested in Halloween I became. My first year in college, some classmates went trick-or-treating through the dorm dressed in costumes they threw together. When they reached my room, we asked if they were having any luck.
They opened their bag to reveal a few pieces of candy, some pencils, a few coins and a whole bunch of beer and condoms.
In high school and college, I spent my summers on staff at a Boy Scout camp. Three of those years I was the mountain man, dressed in buckskins and teaching wilderness survival. I got a lot of attention being in costume and loved it.
As an adult, I have gone to many sci-fi conventions. I always loved seeing the people dress in costumes. I never did, but envied those who paraded around as their favorite characters, getting all the attention and posing for lots of photos.
I finally got to experience that feeling last year when we celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Lone Ranger at the Memphis Film Festival. I got to wear my brand new Lone Ranger outfit for three days. It was a blast. I posed for numerous photos and got to meet many nice people. I have worn the outfit in several parades since then and enjoy doing it.
Being in costume is a release from reality. You get to be someone (or something) else for a while and allow a different side of your personality to come out. I guess that’s why I like Halloween so much. I’ve never been into the whole, scary, gory, bloody part of it. I always liked the fun.
I’ve always been turned off by the evil side of Halloween. I see no reason to celebrate death, pain and suffering. It’s an aspect of society that we get too much of already.
What I would really like to see Halloween become is a celebration of fun. I’d rather go to a fun house than a haunted house. I find Stormtroopers and superheroes far more appealing than zombies and vampires.
I think costume balls could be the trendy thing to do. I think folks would have a whole lot more fun at a dance or hoedown than they would at any haunted house. But that’s just me and obviously there are those who disagree.
Now I get to enjoy Halloween vicariously through my children. They love dressing up, especially Colton, the youngest. At least he’s young enough to not be embarrassed when Dad shows up in his Lone Ranger outfit. In fact, he joined me as such in the Waller County Fair parade.
Hi-yo Silver, away!