Halloween 2022

 

Me in Philadelphia 1980 after one too many drinks I had to remove my werewolf mask and figure out where I got that extra hand!

This year we are doing Halloween here at Casa Tipton-Kelly!

Bill and I moved here to southern Delaware in November of 2007.  Since that time we only open our house to the neighborhood trick or treaters once. It went well but there weren't that many kids in our neighborhood. Most of the homeowners here in our fifty-seven home development were retirees escaping from high tax neighboring states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York or second home owners who are rarely here in October. Across the street a few houses down was the rare family. They had a little boy (who is now a man) and two older sisters who brought him up to our house to trick or treat. He was cute. There were a few people outside the neighborhood who stopped by but I'm not a fan of strangers trick or treating in the neighborhood where I live. If that happens this year I'll close our door and turn off our porch light. They can go buy their candy at Walmart, I don't need to supply them.

This year we have several families with small children in our neighborhood. I know the little girl across the street. She's a sweetie. There are also other kids I know of but don't know them. I see them waiting for the school bus in the morning.

Halloween was always a big deal for me when I was a kid under ten years of age growing up in the small southeastern Pennsylvania town of Downingtown (pop. 5,000). This was in the Fifties when our society was safe enough for kids to go out on their own for Halloween night trick or treating. And also, the candy and other treats we collected was something we REALLY appreciated because we were poor as fuck. I was a big candy eater in those days. Candy and comics books was where I spent most of my $5.00 a week paper boy money. Thus if I could get free candy once a year, that was a TREAT! 

I wish I had some pictures of my Halloween costumes for those years but alas, parents weren't involved. We lived in an apartment on the 100 block of Washington Avenue. My elementary school was on the 300 block of Washington Avenue. Our trick or treating area was those three blocks. It was very safe but of course back in the Fifties that was a different time, we didn't even think about any danger. Innocent times, those times. The only caveat my Mother would give us was to "Don't stay out all night!" Now here's a little secret that I haven't told many people, what costume did I wear? Would you believe that this was the one time I had a chance to dress up in drag? OH YES! I LOVED wearing women's clothes.

So let's examine this proclivity that I had at such a young age. I didn't know anything about gay or drag, all I knew what I liked women's clothes, especially those big puffy gowns that Maureen O'Hara used to wear in those pirate movies when she was being transported to the New World in full dress regalia for a wedding to the governor of Jamaica. Oh yes, THAT was what I WANTED to wear! Here is a publicity photo of her for the movie "Spanish Main":

I couldn't find a color picture of Maureen in one of her resplendent pirate ship gowns. Nowadays it seems you have to PAY for any images you steal from the Internet. But I managed to get this one. 

Of course my Mom had nothing like this fabulous gown in her closet so I made do with a sheet (can you believe it)? Of course my "gown" didn't look anything like Maureen's but I like the FEEL. 

I did the women's clothes things for a few years every Halloween but then at some point I lost interest in drag. I don't know what happened, I just didn't have a desire to dress up. I've only "dressed up" once since that time (1950) and that was a few years ago when Spo and his gang were in town for our second Bloggerpalooza in 2014. I'm told I looked good and you know folks, I felt a "little" good but Pat wasn't too happy with my "new look."

Me with "you know who" at the 2014 Bloggerpalooza

Interesting fact, about the same time I was interested in dressing up in Maureen O'Hara pirate movie ball gowns my straight friend Lar was interested in pirate women. Here's Maureen "Larry style":

Maureen O'Hara in "Against All Flags", a straight man's fantasy

These day for Halloween I love to dress up in werewolf of vampire costumes. I especially like the long black silk cape of Dracula with the red lining. In fact I just bought a new one this year. Unfortunately no one has invited me to a Halloween party so I'll just have to store that fabulous cape until Pat and move to Palm Springs and attend one of those many gay Halloween parties that I'm sure is happening every Halloween. Nobody celebrates Halloween better than gay guys!

Yes, that is me in the background photo in this blog as the werewolf. Photo taken in 1980 in Philadelphia.

Me and my late friend Bob McCamley at the Philadelphia Gay Center in Philadelphia 1980

The same year I also dressed and went out on the streets in Center City Philadelphia and made the rounds of the bars dressed as an Arab Sheik. My excuse to wear flowing robes!

Me as an Arab sheik 1980 Philadelphia PA

One of my goals before I check out from this earthly existence is to dress up as an evil clown. I've ALWAYS wanted to go out as a clown, something I've been all my life at heart. Not necessarily an evil clown but a clown nonetheless. 

Whaddya think?

I'm ready. 

Happy Halloween everybody!