I love Halloween. I don't know what it is about this holiday...holiday? I believe it is a holiday, at least for retailers and people who decorate their houses. It seems to be a huge business for Haunted Houses or Fright Worlds and Corn Mazes (I call it Maize). Halloween paraphernalia is out right after the Back to School supplies are gone which, I guess now, is July. But I do love this season.
Maybe it's the costumes or possibly and most likely the candy (fun sized butterfingers..yes please.. 3 or 4 of them) I know it's not the horror movies and the desire to be scared. Of course my definition of scary has change since I was a kid. It used to be monsters in your house and noises and ghosts. Now its any time one of my kids say ...."I have something to tell you " or "what's this thing on my neck..." Those phrases make my blood run cold and grays my hair like the bride of Frankenstein. Monsters and noises at night???...bring 'em on. I've looked in the face of fear, my friends, and it's called a "pre unlimited texting cell phone bill". Although I'm still not crazy about that whole under the bed scenario...I've seen too many movies. I read somewhere that Stephen King won't have any part of his body hang over the bed when he sleeps. Hey, who can argue with the man that thought up those creepy twins in The Shining. And I have to admit I still can't bring myself to watch The Exorcist....never have, never will.
So I think I love the dressing up part of Halloween that I love. It's a chance to be someone or something else for the day. I never wanted to be a nurse but it was fun to dress up as one. See, I work at an elementary school and it is a great excuse to "have to " dress up. It's surprising how many people detest this day. Of course at school, it's about a week of sugar induced ADHD and kids talking about what horror movie they are "allowed" to watch. Mind you, the the school only goes up to 5th grade (about 10 year olds) and the little darlings are talking about watching Saw. Seriously, Saw??? I refuse to watch that. The scary part is kids that can't remember that a quarter is worth 25 cents are probably memorizing the tortures scenes for future use.
Anyway, I do love the dressing up. I think it comes from my childhood. I do believe my mom was one of those who detested that day. In those days my choices for Halloween costumes were limited to hippie, gypsy or Indian (sorry, it was politically correct to use that word back then). Those three were interchangeable ...give or take some beads and move around the head band. My sister and I were one of those 3 things every year from ages 7-12. I guess it didn't matter because Halloween in Buffalo usually meant a winter coat over your costume anyway.
As I got older and was able to create my own costumes...my world opened up to a wind up doll, Space waitress and on to Miss Yvonne to my boyfriend/now husband's Pee Wee Herman (pre- masturbation in the theatre Pee Wee Herman) and I even dyed my very black hair very red and we were Lucy & Ricky Ricardo. We had parties where everyone dressed up. I used to love to see people going about their party business costumes and all. Where else can you see a bloody shot up gangster having an very in depth conversation with a full grown Winnie the Pooh. I mean a real serious conversation. I would also like when you were driving and there was a bunny driving next to you....or a Star Wars Storm Trooper ...or a clown....well that last one is horrifying . It was amazing how many costumes were so inventive and sometime inappropriate (funny inappropriate, that is....read on) Plus, we used to hate the girls that would come to these parties in "pretty costumes" as we used to call them. Now it seems to be the norm. No matter what you dress up as ...it's sexy.
Vampire....a sexy vampire . Little red riding hood....sexy little red riding hood. ...a nun...a sexy nun?...sexy Cinderella....sexy witch. It's like a fetish episode of HBO's Real Sex. Gives new meaning to Trick or Treat now doesn't it.
But another reason I love Halloween is that we moved into our house on that day. I remember watching our new neighbors looking at us .... a Black Cat walking up the drive way with a little Snow White and an even littler Batman. (my son was Batman for about 4 years, by choice though).
My kids, as you may have guessed, loved and still love Halloween. I recall sitting in a dance studio in May when my girls got their costumes and thinking....all right!!!....awesome Halloween costumes!!! They had 2 or 3 costumes ...indoor ones and out door Buffalo Halloween ones. Ninja Turtle, Jasmine from Aladdin, Little Bo Peep. Phantom of the Opera, a parrot, a viking...the list went on and one. I'm proud to say they still dress up and the costumes are all pretty clever. They don't get candy anymore unfortunately...but there is some kind of liquid treat involved.
So I will always have a fondness for this holiday. Now I get to relive all the fun of carving pumpkins and weeding through candy with the next generation of costume loving kids (my grandson is Tigger this year, but at any time of year will walk around the house with a dish towel tucked in his shirt so he can be Superman).
And speaking of candy...don't give out those gross black and orange wrapped whatevers. What are those???...or worse..apples (remember the razor blade in apples urban legand) or the very worst....pennies. You might as well give out eggs and toilet paper because that's what your house will be covered with if you give out pennies! I am big on bubble gum....and huge hand-fulls of bubble gum at that (if I buy chocolate, I have found...it will never make it to Halloween, no matter where I hide it... so I have learned to buy the stuff that will make it to the 31st.) So whatever you give...just don't be skimpy. It's all about filling the pillow case...it's all about the hand fulls...and that's what you get when you come to my house and always will even when I'm too old to dress up in anything but a house coat...a sexy house coat.....just saying
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Live, Laugh, Love.....especially Laugh
Well, it has been kind of a rough week for this usually cheerful/cynical girl. I lost a good friend. I lost one about 9 years ago -I lost one about 9 days ago and for some reason there is a connection.
My friend that I lost years ago was also my sister in law...but she was certainly my friend. She lost a battle with breast cancer and this being "Pink-tober" ...that feeling was in the air. Everywhere you look is pink...and that's cool...it's awareness ( yes I know ...I'm over due for my mamo...I'm going ...I'm going). The fact that everytime we tried to take a step of the Breast Cancer walk...it poured...it teamed ...it was very clear to me that she was in the air...
"Quick- everyone-under the tent"
"Okay...it's slowing down...let's walk" ...... rain...rain...RAIN!!!!
"Quick- everyone- under the tent"
Finally I thought...I don't think she wants us to walk! - Okay, read the signs any way you want...but if you knew her, that rain her was saying ...go ...go have breakfast...go watch the Bills game...so we did.
I get those signs all the time. On the anniversary of that awful day that she left this earth...I say to the heavens (where she most definitely is)"Hope I see you today"...and I always do. To some people they were just little gifts ( oh by the way did I mention it was Christmas time when she passed away ...seriously Christmas time!??!! )To some people it was just an angel ornament...a pink scarf ...a little figurine collectible -but to me it was a big hello from my sister in law...my friend that I miss so much.
The best was this past year. I was waiting ...emotionally looking around every corner...waiting for my hello. But she is tricky my sister in law, my friend... I was getting gifts here and there ,but nothing that would resemble her hello ( although the bottles of "spirits" -pun intended- were appreciated). Then my phone buzzed...who is texting me???....forgetting that my own sister was awaiting word about the sex of the baby her daughter was carrying....I check my phone and all I see are two words...THINK PINK!!!
Cue waterworks...so happy that my sister was going to have a granddaughter and experience the joy (that I know first hand ) of being a grandma...but with those two words I got my hello and I would like to think a little intervention...My niece was so hoping for a girl...and yeah, yeah.. I know how it works XY chromosomes and all that shit....but in my heart- my sister in law, my friend worked her magic. She was like magic... she truly did live-laugh and love and we did that together...especially laugh!
I can remember after every show her daughter did or my family did we would chat for hours about it. We would talk about what was great...how great our kids were...how everyone else sucked ...and how we would have done it differently....it was really one of the best parts of doing the show other than the actual doing of the show!!! I miss that more that anyone will ever know
.....so here's my connection.
Last week, I lost a friend. He was a show friend ...but so, so much more. There were people that you did shows with...and then there was Tom. Now I haven't heard from Tom for almost 30 years and one day last year I got a FaceBook message from him saying "I found you". That was it...we were back!
Say what you want about FaceBook....it's a soap box...a self serving one at that....a place to put pictures of yourself looking all fancy or most of the time looking like a jackass...but to me it will always be the vehicle that got me back in touch with Tom. We saw each other quite a few times over which turned out to be his last bit of time on earth . But who knew... we were back...we acted like it was 30 years ago. True, it wasn't a catch phrase back then but we certainly did live laugh and love...especially laugh. Even just recently at a 3 hour lunch...we laughed... I could always count on him for a laugh and at the most inappropriate things...my personal favorite things to laugh at.. for example..(and I'm really, truly sorry if I offend anyone ) the 911 call of the women who owned the monkey who attacked that other woman's face. He did an awesome impression of that awful screeching phone call...
"he's killing her"
"who ma'am??"
"MY MONKEY"
...so sorry... again so so sorry ....with heads hung in shame, we both agreed how horrible that event had to have been...but the phone call ...it made us both giggle a bit...alright a lot...but that was Tom.
So when he sent me a text on the opening night of The Wiz and so eloquently quoted a line from a Wiz song... so perfectly timed that I could tearfully share it with the cast...I was touch but not surprised ...that was my friend Tom.
I will miss him more than anyone will ever know. And like with my sister in law, my other friend, I will look for signs. I may have already gotten one. The night of Tom's wake, I was on the computer playing some mind numbing game and looking at some old pic (okay some stalking). I was on the computer literally for hours when I decided to hop on to his page...the page where I learned about his passing and I was able to read all the tributes to him and see his face once more ... just then, my computer froze. After hours of no computer problems at all...it froze...froze on his page...on his name...on his face. To some people it may have been a technological glich...to me it was hello....just saying.
My friend that I lost years ago was also my sister in law...but she was certainly my friend. She lost a battle with breast cancer and this being "Pink-tober" ...that feeling was in the air. Everywhere you look is pink...and that's cool...it's awareness ( yes I know ...I'm over due for my mamo...I'm going ...I'm going). The fact that everytime we tried to take a step of the Breast Cancer walk...it poured...it teamed ...it was very clear to me that she was in the air...
"Quick- everyone-under the tent"
"Okay...it's slowing down...let's walk" ...... rain...rain...RAIN!!!!
"Quick- everyone- under the tent"
Finally I thought...I don't think she wants us to walk! - Okay, read the signs any way you want...but if you knew her, that rain her was saying ...go ...go have breakfast...go watch the Bills game...so we did.
I get those signs all the time. On the anniversary of that awful day that she left this earth...I say to the heavens (where she most definitely is)"Hope I see you today"...and I always do. To some people they were just little gifts ( oh by the way did I mention it was Christmas time when she passed away ...seriously Christmas time!??!! )To some people it was just an angel ornament...a pink scarf ...a little figurine collectible -but to me it was a big hello from my sister in law...my friend that I miss so much.
The best was this past year. I was waiting ...emotionally looking around every corner...waiting for my hello. But she is tricky my sister in law, my friend... I was getting gifts here and there ,but nothing that would resemble her hello ( although the bottles of "spirits" -pun intended- were appreciated). Then my phone buzzed...who is texting me???....forgetting that my own sister was awaiting word about the sex of the baby her daughter was carrying....I check my phone and all I see are two words...THINK PINK!!!
Cue waterworks...so happy that my sister was going to have a granddaughter and experience the joy (that I know first hand ) of being a grandma...but with those two words I got my hello and I would like to think a little intervention...My niece was so hoping for a girl...and yeah, yeah.. I know how it works XY chromosomes and all that shit....but in my heart- my sister in law, my friend worked her magic. She was like magic... she truly did live-laugh and love and we did that together...especially laugh!
I can remember after every show her daughter did or my family did we would chat for hours about it. We would talk about what was great...how great our kids were...how everyone else sucked ...and how we would have done it differently....it was really one of the best parts of doing the show other than the actual doing of the show!!! I miss that more that anyone will ever know
.....so here's my connection.
Last week, I lost a friend. He was a show friend ...but so, so much more. There were people that you did shows with...and then there was Tom. Now I haven't heard from Tom for almost 30 years and one day last year I got a FaceBook message from him saying "I found you". That was it...we were back!
Say what you want about FaceBook....it's a soap box...a self serving one at that....a place to put pictures of yourself looking all fancy or most of the time looking like a jackass...but to me it will always be the vehicle that got me back in touch with Tom. We saw each other quite a few times over which turned out to be his last bit of time on earth . But who knew... we were back...we acted like it was 30 years ago. True, it wasn't a catch phrase back then but we certainly did live laugh and love...especially laugh. Even just recently at a 3 hour lunch...we laughed... I could always count on him for a laugh and at the most inappropriate things...my personal favorite things to laugh at.. for example..(and I'm really, truly sorry if I offend anyone ) the 911 call of the women who owned the monkey who attacked that other woman's face. He did an awesome impression of that awful screeching phone call...
"he's killing her"
"who ma'am??"
"MY MONKEY"
...so sorry... again so so sorry ....with heads hung in shame, we both agreed how horrible that event had to have been...but the phone call ...it made us both giggle a bit...alright a lot...but that was Tom.
So when he sent me a text on the opening night of The Wiz and so eloquently quoted a line from a Wiz song... so perfectly timed that I could tearfully share it with the cast...I was touch but not surprised ...that was my friend Tom.
I will miss him more than anyone will ever know. And like with my sister in law, my other friend, I will look for signs. I may have already gotten one. The night of Tom's wake, I was on the computer playing some mind numbing game and looking at some old pic (okay some stalking). I was on the computer literally for hours when I decided to hop on to his page...the page where I learned about his passing and I was able to read all the tributes to him and see his face once more ... just then, my computer froze. After hours of no computer problems at all...it froze...froze on his page...on his name...on his face. To some people it may have been a technological glich...to me it was hello....just saying.
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