Halloween - The Day After

 

So how did last night go? 

How many trick or treaters stopped by Casa Tipton-Kelly?

Did I run out of candy for the tricksters?

Nada.

That's right, NO trick or treaters stopped by our humble abode. 

I was ready with my vampire cape and scary Halloween music.

Sunset was at 6:02 PM. 

I put out my lighted pumpkin and unlocked our front door, ready to receive the onslaught.

NADA.

The vampire cape was hot. Hot in both senses. Hot to look at and hot to wear. 

I planned to play the role for two hours or when my candy supply ran out. 

I waited in my home office which is right off the side of the front door. Ready to scare the bejesus out of trick or treater. 

And I waited. 

NADA.

At 7:15 PM I took of my vampire cape (phew!) and turned off our porch light and closed our front door and locked it. 

Bill had asked me to save some of our Halloween candy for him. I was afraid I would run out. Not to worry, he has candy for a year.

Now for Thanksgiving. I await an invitation to a Thanksgiving diner. I'm not working this year so I will be available. 

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!

Happy Halloween 2021

Me (guess which on) Halloween 2009 - Rehoboth Beach

 Yes, I'm still here folks! 

Now trick or treating this year for me this Halloween. 

The photo above was the last time I ventured out dressed to the gillies for Halloween. 

Oh how I used to look forward to Halloween. Not so much these days.  

Earlier our doorbell rang. Whoops! I forgot it was Halloween.  I checked my Ring video and sure enough, a young lady out there with a child. I have no idea who it was. I didn't answer the door. Bah humbug, that's me these days.

My caregiving continues. 

Bill is slowly getting weaker. He has a hard time talking and his cognitive abilities are slipping further but thank God he's not in pain and he knows who I am.

Since I last posted we've had several developments. Depressing at first but I've rationalized them and put myself in a "life goes on" mode. 

My annual labs and medical checkup at the VA revealed a "spot" on my left lung. My NP has recommended I get a CAT-SCAN. Also, my white blood cell count is down. I'm not sure what that means. I'm not HIV-Positive. 

I got my COVID booster shot last week. About eight hours after the booster shot I had some troubling after effects, feeling blah and shortness of breath. Actually very scary. I don't know how much was in my mind and how much was actual physical reaction. However, when I woke up next day all was back to normal.

In a couple of weeks I'll be eighty years old. And I ask myself "How in the hell did THAT happen?" 

Taking everything into consideration I still feel very fortunate I've reached this grand old age and the life I've had. A truly wonderful life for an "slightly" below average guy of intelligence and looks. Pretty darn good I say.

Have a happy Halloween everyone!

Halloween - 2019

Me at a Halloween party at the Venture Inn, Philadelphia PA 1980

Tomorrow is Halloween. This year like last year I won't be handing out candy to the neighborhood kids. 

Our first Halloween in our new home in Delaware was in 2007. I meticulously packed up little bags of candy.  I put Halloween decorations outside.  I also put on eerie Halloween type music and awaited the trick or treaters. They came. I only recognized one neighbor kid, Luke from down the street. He was about eight years old at the time and was quite happy to receive his bag of candy. That was fun for both of us.

That night we had about five or six knocks on our door, the rest from people who don't live in our neighborhood, some was past Halloween trick or treat time. That wasn't fun. 

When I was eight years old I lived in a family friendly neighborhood in Downingtown Pennsylvania. This was in the early Fifties. I eagerly looked forward to Halloween every year. Not only so I could dress up in women's clothes (oh yes, I had that gay drag gene early, thank goodness that urge wore off) and get some free candy. Back in that time, I was poor (as were so many of us) and I liked getting free candy. Halloween was a big deal for me. I have to admit though that most of the houses I stopped at on Washington Avenue, didn't know who I was. But I did make out like a bandit with a huge bag of candy and the occasional apple (always a party pooper in the mix).  

As an adult I participated in some Halloween activity, gay theme.  No candy was involved but I did like dressing up.  My last big costume binge was as an Arab sheikh (see photo at the beginning of this blog).  

Since moving to Delaware I've dressed up a couple time, once to a costume party (which I was never invited back) and once just roaming the streets of Rehoboth Beach.  Sort of fun. 

Me as Gandolfo last year - party at my home

I still have Halloween costumes here in the house as well as Halloween decorations. Maybe some year I'll go all out again for Halloween. However, this year Halloween has just came around too soon.

I hope whatever you plan to do this year is fun for you. We all need to break the routine sometimes and just be silly. That's fun.

Me as The Joker or John Wayne Gacey (take your choice)

Happy Halloween!

Tonight the gremlins and ghouls will roam the quiet streets of our neighborhood. We'll leave our lights off.  The little beggars will have to take their trick or treat threats to our neighbors.

I guess I sound like a one of those "bah humbug!" old men.  Well, I am an old man. But I have nothing against Halloween. I'm just not in the mood to station myself next to our front door waiting for strangers to knock on our door for their Halloween treats.  

There aren't too many kids in the neighborhood.  In fact the only children I know of are the two little girls next door who we rarely see. Then there's a little boy down the street.  He's about twelve years old now and probably too old to do the Halloween thing. The rest of our neighborhood are mostly retirees or second home folks who aren't even here.  

Halloween is the beginning of "The Holidays".  Before you know it, Thanksgiving is here.  No, we don't have anything planned for Thanksgiving either.  I'll be working at the hotel Thanksgiving like I have in years past.  However, I won't be working Christmas this year for the first time in many years.  I don't mind working Christmas Day and I do get paid double time but I think it would be nice to have Christmas Day off for once.

For those of you who are celebrating Halloween, I wish you a very happy Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!

One Week To Go!

This time next week I will have cast my vote in the mid-term elections.  Here in southern Delaware, we're pretty much progressive (Democratic). There are pockets of Trumpism, in fact more than a few pockets but Delaware is pretty safe for Democratic control of Congress.  

What is going to be interesting is the results of the nationwide voting. I say without exaggeration this is the most important election of my lifetime. 

When I was a kid, my biggest worry was an atom bomb dropping on us, incinerating me out of existence.  Hiding under my wooden desk with the metal legs bolted to the floor wasn't going to save me from the thermal blast of an atom bomb. Even my little seven year old brain figured that out.

Growing up, my next big worry was being sent to a senseless war (Viet Nam) and dying in a steamy rice paddy.  Thankfully that didn't happen during my three year tour of duty in the Army. Yes, I was very lucky.  Many were not.

Now I have a new worry, the biggest worry is the loss of our democracy in this age of Trump.  Trump is who he is, my shock is the Republican enablers in Congress.  They are traitors and cowards in my humble opinion.  They scare me to death.  

Hopefully this time next week, after the mid-term elections our country will be on a new course.  In the meantime, have a happy Halloween!

Halloween

Halloween is only a few days away.  This year like last year I won't be participating in Halloween. 

That's right, no candy for the kiddies.  No costumes for me.  Not that I wouldn't like to participate, I do.  But this year, as in years past I haven't been invited to any Halloween parties. Oh I know, poor me.  Actually, I'm just too old and too busy and too tied to my regular routine.  

When I was a kid I used to eagerly look forward to Halloween and the whole trick or treat tradition. I was lucky in that I lived in a small town with a lovely street (Washington Avenue) with family homes ideal for trick or treating.  

At that time in my life my family lived in a second floor apartment on Washington Avenue.  This was the Fifties.  When we begged for candy, it meant something because we were POOR.  Yes, really poor so any candy we got was appreciated. 

Now you probably will find this hard to believe, knowing how butch I am now but when I was a little kid I used to love Halloween because I got a chance to dress up in a dress.  My ideal dress was a Scarlett O'Hara type ball gown.  Oh yes, that was little femme "Ronnie", gay when I didn't even know what gay meant.  Thankfully that period of my life didn't last too long, the wanting to wear women's clothes not that there is anything wrong with that.  But folks, that's not me,  I prefer Wranglers.  I like being a male and all things male. I can appreciate the beauty of women and their clothes, remember I wanted to be a fashion designer.  But the life of a drag queen wasn't for me.  

So this year at Halloween I will just be an observer. If some of  you are participating, I wish you all a fabulous Halloween celebration. Watch out for werewolf and ghouls.  And especially watch out for the one monster that scares me to this day, Frankenstein's monster.  Man, I've never gotten over that one.

Happy Halloween 2017

Me in my last Halloween costume trolling Rehoboth Avenue in Rehoboth Beach 2009

Scary times folks!  

Here we go with another Halloween. I won't be dressing up this year either.  These holidays just come up on my too fast. Years past I always used to make a big deal out of Halloween.  From the time I was a little kid of ten years old trick and treating up and down Washington Avenue until my adult Halloween days when I hit the gay bars in Philadelphia dressed as an Arab sheik. 

Me, Halloween 1980 in Philadelphia, PA

Not this year. 

Me and my late friend Bob McCamley, Halloween 1979 in Philadelphia, PA

Several reasons why I'm not immersing myself in the Halloween festivities this year.  The main  reason is that I don't drive at night. The last time I went out for Halloween was in 2009, eight years ago!  Where oh where does the time go?

Maybe next year, if I'm here.

Me (tall white haired slasher in back) with my late neighbor's Al and Don - 2007

Another Halloween Gone

Well folks, another Halloween has come and gone.  

During my walk yesterday morning I was greeted with with scary apparition attached to my neighbor's mail box.

Fearsome skeleton pirate

During my walk this morning, the skeleton pirate was done, collapsed on the road.

Skelton pirate this morning, wiped out

Bill and I did not participate in the Halloween festivities last night.  We are now officially the "Bah humbug!" Old Guys.  

We moved to Casa Tipton-Kelly in November 2006, having just missed the first Halloween trick of treat trolling by the Little Neighborhood Monsters.  However, the following October we did the whole schlemiel.  I had the lighted pumpkins in the window, bags of carefully prepared (and packaged) Halloween candy.  I even had the spooky music.  

So how did it go?  We had a few groups stop in, only one we knew who was our neighbor across the street.  His little boy (probably about eight years old) was dumbstruck when they ushered him into the front door. Didn't say a word, just had that deer in the headlights look.  Of course that "little boy" is now 16 or 17 years old.  

Our neighbor next door has two little girls of the age (4 and 7) for Halloween blackmail trick or treat mischief. The whole family skedaddled out of town in their big camper trailer two days ago.

So there was no reason for us (the Two Old Grumpy Guys) to put on a Halloween display or pass out candy, which by the way, the last time we did it we had candy for six months afterwards. As a matter if fact we had candy (still niftily packaged) up to the next Halloween.  That's when we seriously reconsidered doing this whole "Halloween" thing.  

I'm all for Halloween celebrations and if someone invited me to a Halloween party, I probably would have dressed up and went to the party.  But as you all know, after nine years I have been unable to break into the exclusive D.C. (Washington) club of Rehoboth Beach Gays (my pension isn't that big).  

There are a few other venues (gay based) that I could insert myself, one being the local gay church.  But alas, I don't feel comfortable there because it is mainly a lesbian church and you know the lesbians, they stick together.  Most of them hardly tolerate gay men and when they do, they think we're all drag queens who do wonderful window treatments. Some of the  gay guys I have encountered (with a few notable exceptions) who attend the church seem to be more interested in hooking up than just being friends.  But then, a church, straight or gay, is a venue for meeting people so there.  I guess the main reason I don't go is because I just don't believe all the fairy tales propagated at the church, no offense to my religious readers.  

But I'm veering off again on other subjects.  I still have to do that long put off blog rant update.  

So last night I watched a brilliant Argentine  movie (with English sub-titles)  called "Wild Tales."  Then I went to bed early, satisfied that I had an excellent experience.   That was my Halloween folks.  Life goes on (and does it ever)!  

Halloween 2015

Scared the crap out of me first time I saw Him in a movie

Halloween was always my favorite holiday.

When I was a little kid (seven and eight years old), I couldn't wait for the brisk days of autumn to roll around.  The smell of dead leaves in the air, the anticipation of going trick or treating, and getting free candy!  Wow.  

I was lucky because I grew up in the Forties (yes, I am THAT old) before people started to put razor blades into apples.  By the way, I hated it when I went trick or treating and someone gave me fruit.  WTF? Candy man, CANDY!  

Anyway, back to my Halloween narrative:  I lived "in town", which meant I lived on a street (Washington Avenue) in a small town (Downingtown, Pennsylvania - population 5,000). I literally lived in a Norman Rockwell town.  

We were poor, poorer than most of my neighbors on Washington Avenue.  They lived in houses, we (me, my Mom and Pop and two younger brothers) lived in a second floor, roach infested, two bedroom, one bath walk up apartment (rent $22 a month).  Pop was a welder and Mom a Stay-at-home Mom.  So when Halloween came around this was time for FREE CANDY.  And at that age I LOVED candy, especially FREE CANDY. 

A pause here, I started this blog intending to tell what or who scared me the most (the Frankenstein Monster of course) and here I'm going on about candy.  Back to what scared me the most.

In out little town we had a movie theater called the  Roosevelt.  It used to be the Downingtown Opera House but when I was growing up I could go to the movies for 15 cents.  "Adults" (over 12 years old) had to pay 45 cents which, of course, I could never afford.

Anyway, I hear about this Universal movie called "Frankenstein."  I love scary movies so I went with my cousins (and I think my brothers, I'm not sure about that).  I was about eleven years old when I saw the movie.  I remember this because I had to walk down Boot Road to the movie theater and we moved to that apartment on Boot Road when I was eleven years old.  

So I see this movie.  The first time the Monster appears on screen he looks RIGHT AT ME.




 He made EYE CONTACT with me!  And that eerie music was playing.  I froze in my seat.  I was literally scared shitless.  Man oh man.  I was FROZEN.

For the rest of the movie, especially that scene where he pops in on the pristine white bride (Mae Clarke), I was petrified.  All I could think was "How am I going to go home?"  I have to walk all the way down Boot Road in the DARK.  There were no houses on Boot Road, only empty corn fields.  HOW WAS I GOING TO GET HOME?

Well folks, I made it home but let me tell you, I have NEVER and I mean NEVER been as frightened since as I was that night when I was convinced that the Frankenstein Monster was waiting for me in one of those fields and was going to chase me home.

In fact, for months thereafter I used to have dreams that he did indeed chase me home.  I always made it home in time and locked the door behind me but I would then see his face looking through the window at me.  Several times he broke into the house. And I don't know where my parents or my brothers were, in these dreams I was always the only one in the house.  

When I heard "Frankenstein's" loud footsteps clomping up the stairs outside (we lived in another second floor apartment this time, sans cockroaches this time) I retreated to the crawl space attic, carefully lowing the small plywood covering over the opening.  Once in the attic I could hear "Frankenstein" growling (and man didn't he have a scary growl?) and slamming things around.  Then everything went quiet.  

Now this is where it really got scary.  I could hear him opening the bedroom door.  The entrance to the attic was in the bedroom closet.  I hear him moving around in our bedroom (which I shared with my two bothers - WHERE WERE THEY)?  

I hear him grunting.  Then he stops.  Silence.  Then I hear the closet door opening.  More silence.  Then I see the plywood covering moving up.  HE'S FOUND ME!!!!!

I wake up.  

Ask me how many times I had this dream when I was young.  Many time folks, many times.

To this day, I am fascinated by the original Frankenstein's monster portrayed by Boris Karloff.   

Oh sure, there have been other Frankenstein monsters but none like his.  

I was scared to death folks.  Even to this day when I see those dead eyes, it sends a chill through my bones.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Trick or Treat

I've been racking my brain to come up with something original for this year's Halloween posting but nothing is happening.  My creative juices have dried up.  

So here is what I'll write about this morning, a potpourri of unrelated happenings and facts.

I was in quandary this morning because I lost my regular barber.  She's retiring for health reasons.  I'm sad to see her go because she cuts my hair exactly the way I want it cut.  None of this "part" stuff and gook in my hair. Just take that shaver and shave my head.  

I was in luck this morning because I went to a barber that I had frequented before in Lewes.  I was hesitant because I hadn't gone back after a few of her haircuts.  You know how barbers can get sometimes if you dump them for another barber.  Thankfully, she held no grudges and gave me a perfect haircut.  

Then on to visit my friend the Cajun at Beebe.  He's been at the hospital for going on three weeks now.  When I rounded the corner to visit his room, there was already a Halloween party going on.  A couple of the hospital staff were dressed in Halloween costumes making the rounds.  I didn't take a picture (should have in retrospect) because the Cajun asked me not to when I visit him.  

After his "Trick or Treaters" left him we had a good discussion.  The Cajun is and always has been great company.  I'm always baffled why some people who have such a wonderful and generous personality are single.  Makes me realize how lucky I am.  

We talked about life and death issues and agreed that end of life issues are to be decided by each of us, and not others. This is always a difficult and sometimes taboo subject to talk about but each of us will face our own life and death issues eventually.  I've always felt it best to have a plan in place.  I know one thing for certain, I don't want my end of life to end up the way of my friend Bob Mc. And it won't.  

The trick or treaters will be around tonight but our lights will be off.  Halloween is fun but I'm just not into it this year.  I haven't even bought "just in case" candy.  

This looks to be a quiet weekend folks.  I haven't done my genealogy updates for a long time.  I think I'll take a few days and immerse myself into that pleasant pastime, my version of yoga.  

The good news yesterday was Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple coming out as a gay man.  I like his quote (which I could have written myself):  

"So let me be clear, I am proud to be gay and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me."  

Tim Cook, Apple CEO

Folks, I've always felt being gay was a gift.  I never once in my life felt ashamed for being gay.  I never once felt that I was shortchanged.  I never once felt that I was born with a liability. Never once.  My only concern was how to survive.  

Well said Tim Cook, well said and thank you.

Halloweeny

No Halloween for me this year.  Bah humbug.

Seriously, I just can't get into it this year.  Here we go on the roller coaster of holidays.  

Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas then . . . . the two coldest and dreariest months of the year, January and February.  

I don't know why I'm feeling this way.  Maybe it's because I feel I'm being rushed into "the holidays."  I used to love Halloween.  Maybe if I was invited to a party of two I would feel different.  Maybe not.  I don't travel at night anyway.  To tell you the truth, I would rather watch a few episodes of "The Good Wife" at the Tipton Cinema than venture out onto Route One and take my chances of having one of those aggressive drivers running into me.  Maybe I'm just getting old.

Every day Bill and I go out for a ride, maybe two.  Today we went to Milton and the Veggie Stand That Has No Name.  I love fresh vegetables.  I brought a pumpkin (naturally), green and red pepper, red potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini squash and an onion.  Today is probably the last time I'll be able to get fresh veggies this year.  Then it's off to Food Lion and the two week old shipped across the country tasteless veggies.

I seem to be in a mood today.  Don't know why.  Maybe it's because of the onslaught of shorter days.  It's 6:44 PM now and DARK outside. Each day gets a little shorter, that's always depressing.  

SAD: Seasonal Affectional Disorder

Man oh man, I have to do a more upbeat blog tomorrow.  

Halloween - Past and Present

The first Halloween I can remember was when I was about eight years old.  I lived on Washington Avenue in the small town of Downingtown, Pennsylvania (pop. 5,000).  Our family lived on  great street for trick or treating, Washington Avenue was right in the center of town.

This is the first time I'm revealing my first costume but it was a southern ball gown.  Yep folks, old "butchie" (now anyway) Ron went dressed up as a GIRL! Specifically a Southern Belle.  

Going to school in the Fifties I was transfixed by all the crinolines in my females classmate's dresses. Oh how I loved that swish and swish when they got up from their desks to change classes.  Oh yes folks, I had the big hoop dress!  What was I thinking?  No wonder when I went trick or treating up and down Washington Avenue with all the cowboys, scarecrows, and skeletons I was the ONLY hoop skirted eight year old boy.




 I think I only did this once before it sunk into my eight year old brain that this WASN'T the way to go.  I mean talk about horror scenes……

In succeeding years I trick or treated as a bum (which wasn't a big stretch since we were almost dirt poor) and as a scarecrow but never as an eight year old drag queen again.  God, if I did who knows what I would be doing today?  Probably giving our local drag queen Mona Lotts a run for her tip money at the Blue Moon in Rehoboth Beach.



After we moved from Washington Avenue I didn't do Halloween again until 1979, when I was 38 years old. Thank God by now I was out of my drag diva mode and into my monster mode.  I've posted those 1979 Halloween pictures several times in my past blog postings. 

 

Me and my friend Bob McC. - Philadelphia - 1979

Fast forward to 2007 (oh how the years go by).  Bill and I had just moved to Delaware.  We were invited to a Halloween party.  The first and last Halloween party I've been invited to since we moved to Delaware.  I went with my butch monster outfit again.  First I tried it out on my neighbor Barbara.

Barbara loved it/me!  It was a go!

Me and my neighbors Don and Al.  We're off to the party!

The party was a bust.  I didn't know anyone and since I had my mask on, no on knew me.  They wouldn't of known me anyway, I'm not part of the "In Crowd."  Never been invited back.  Oh well.

Taking a break from the Halloween part, and giving my face refresher from that hot mask.

One of these Halloweens, before I get too old and end up in an assisted care facility I would like to do just one more Halloween.  The below picture of from the 1979 Halloween I celebrated in Philadelphia when I took a tour of the gay bars on Halloween night.  I saw some of the best costumes. This is "Lady Marmalade."  

Maybe next time I'll go as Jason or is it Michael Myers? I also get those movies ("Halloween" and "Friday the 13th") mixed up.

But for tonight, I'm trapped at the Inn.  Yep, I'm working tonight in my regular Hotel Front Desk drag.  I'm not going anywhere tonight but I may scare a few unsuspecting hotel guests.

Great Horror Movie Scenes

Believe it or not some of the other scariest movies I saw were the Abbott and Costello series of movies where they meet several Universal Studios monsters. Funny thing, I knew these were comedies but they still scared the bejesus out of me.




This is what an impressionable 10 year old I was. I loved Abbot and Costello. I knew they were comedians. I knew this was a movie, but still.




I look at these movie clips now and a broad smile breaks out across my face. I see the humor now but man oh man, I didn't when I was that scared 10 year old in that darkened Roosevelt movie theater in Downingtown back in 1951.





Now here is one movie that didn't scare me a whit, "The Creature From the Black Lagoon." Are you kidding?  Nice musical score but I did enjoy the movie if for nothing else that its camp effect.  Doesn't this movie clip sort of remind you of a precursor to "Jaws?"





Ah yes, "Chrissie's Last Swim." Who can ever forget this scene?

Now that I'm dusting the cobwebs from my brain I remember another horror movie that scared the bejesus out of me, "The Thing."  





 What was good about "The Thing" was that you never really got a good look at the monster, who was played by the young James Arness, the future Matt Dillon of "Gunsmoke." Which reminds me now of probably the second scariest movie that I ever saw, "The Haunting" by Shirley Jackson. This was the tried and true formula of a group of people spending a night in a haunted house. I remember when this movie was over I was exhausted and I remembered something else, I never actually saw a monster which in the end is the true horror, it is our fear of the unknown.

Andy and Amy's Haunted House

Halloween is just a few days away.  I was wondering what I going to post to my blog to mark this day, one of my very favorite holidays of the year.   Well folks, I found it.  A video clip from the Ellen Show which shows one of her writers and production assistant taking a "walk" through a haunted house inhabited by zombies.  This has to be the funniest video I've ever seen.

Enjoy!

Halloween Quiz

Hey folks, I'm sure you've all seen the Halloween items already laid out in the stores.  Here in Gayberry, Southern Delaware Halloween items hit the stores a few weeks after Labor Day.  

This afternoon I had to go to Walmart to get some glitter for my Tipton Family Reunion banner (yes!  I found it!) 

Found banner! Needs Glitter!

Tipton Family Reunion 1994

With glitter added!

and I saw a Halloween store open.  I just had to go in and check out the ghoulish items. Lots of good stuff there folks!  There was one cool display with a ghoul nodding his head along with the Crypt Keeper.  Fog, thunder and howling in the background. I love it!  

I showed this video to my pal Lar.  He noticed something unusual about the Nodding Head Ghoul, something that I am ashamed as a life long gay guy, that I missed.  Larry's straight and he caught it!  So this gave me an idea for tonight's blog posting.  I'm going to post three Halloween photos and see how many people can spot the "thing" that is OUT OF PLACE.  One of the pictures you've probably seen before. It was of me celebrating Halloween in 1980 in Philadelphia.  The picture was taken when I was about three sheets to the wind and had taken off my werewolf mask (and was actually asked to put it back on by my bearded friend who said I looked "sexier" with it on!)  

Two things wrong with this picture - what are they?

So here goes folks.  Check out the video above and tell me what is out of place.  Also check the clown photo (for Someone of "Harpers' Keeper" - he just LOVE clowns as do I).  

What (who) doesn't belong in this picture? 

I don't know if I'll do Halloween this year folks.  Halloween is on a Thursday and I'm scheduled to work.  I always used to do Halloween and loved it.  

The best costume I ever did was in 1980 when I dressed as an Arab sheik.  However, this was during the Arab Oil Crisis and I had to take off my robes in a bar, I was betting too much harassment. That's when I changed to my wolf man costume.

Me as a faux Arab sheik - I LOVED those flowing robes

Me as a wolfman.  Actually I had several guys who were very interested in me.....with the mask. Hey folks, that was just to weird.  I could imagine going home with someone and keeping that mask on THE WHOLE TIME.  

I'm on the left - the one with the fangs

Happy Halloween!

"Witch" Alexandrea, my boss's daughter who paid a visit to us at work today - BOO!

Happy Halloween everyone!  I just had my first visit from neighborhood trick or treaters.  I had my bucket of candy (properly wrapped thank you) ready for them.  Earlier I put my fake pumpkin with a light in it in the window to let the neighborhood kids that I am tricking (not the first time I've said that word by the way, but that's another WHOLE different story and this is a family blog).

Somehow, tonight just doesn't feel like Halloween.  I just cannot get in the mood.  A lot of it has to do with the election and the incredible lies and dirty politics that the Romney campaign and the Republicans are descending to in Ohio to convince those "undecided voters" that President Obama is the devil incarnate.  I think we all know who the devil is but again, I won't go into that in this blog posting.  

I'm also a bit down thinking about all those poor folks in New Jersey and New York who have lost their homes as a result of this horrible Hurricane Sandy.  I also feel a little bit guilty because when I saw that Sandy was going to hit the very spot on the east shore of Delaware where I live (Lewes) I was hoping it would move forward a bit and hit Atlantic City and New Jersey instead.  It did!  The hurricane actually took an abrupt turn and moved fifty miles north and DID HIT Atlantic City.  I now have Survivor's Guilt.  The only solace I am getting from this whole disaster is seeing how New Jersey governor Chris Christy (who I am liking more and more every day) and President Obama are cooperating to bring relief to all those affect by this monster storm.  How unlike the government's response to Katrina.  I can't believe that "Brownie", that worthless political hack that Bush appointed to head FEMA during the Hurricane Katrina crime disaster said Obama responded "too fast."  Just when you think someone can't get any more reprehensible, they prove they can go even lower.  How do these people sleep at night?  I know, they have no conscience.  

Look at me, here I've gone off in the wrong direction again. I'll be SO GLAD when this election is over.  I feel so thankful that we dodged a bullet with this storm.  I hope those who weren't so lucky lives return to normal very soon.