I am not totally sure that this is the way to introduce you to my husband, but with the spooky holiday right around the corner I think he'll understand.
Those of you who are "in the know" will recognize by the pix of Jerry that I am learning a little something about Photoshop, and while mostly what I've learned thus far has been applied to photos that need a tinch of editing or restoration, the capability of distorting things has given me a whole lot of ideas to play around with. So far I've distorted myself, my daughter Erin and Jerry. I must admit Jerry's face has far exceeded in drama the faces Erin and I ended up with.
I have always enjoyed Halloween. When we were kids mother used to pick our costumes for "trick-or-treating." In those days neighborhoods were safe, neighbors were kind, and we could count on getting enough candy to eat for the next year.
The picture is from my "baby book" and mother noted that I was four years old, which would make my little sister Ginnie Lou two. I can remember putting on the witch's mask that went along with my costume and hearing Ginnie Lou shriek with fear. I always thought that I didn't get to wear the mask in the picture because of that, but in thinking about it now, I suppose mother wanted a picture that included our darling little faces; posterity would not be served if they were hidden behind masks! And I'm sure our trick-or-treating at such a young age was just a token tour of our apartment building.
Later as we got old enough to go by ourselves, my sis and I tended to want to dress in attractive costumes and not look like witches, devils or ghosts. The picture below was taken when I was 11; I wanted to be a gypsy and my mother was able to sew up a costume for me that was satisfactory. I thought I was quite stunning in this outfit. As I recall, my sister was a pirate, also in a costume made by my mother.
It was long after my own children were of a trick-or-treating age that it became dangerous to go door to door on one's own. And dangerous to eat any treats that were given. It is such a shame that our society has gone down this path of meanness. Not all of society, of course, but enough that little kids today don't get to experience the wild runs from house to house lugging a pillowcase full of penny candy, excitedly beating on door after door and yelling "TRICK OR TREAT." Our parents did not have to go with us; they told us how far from home we could go. They expected us to obey and we did. We are always disgruntled at people who gave us apples instead of candy, and thought people who dropped a few pennies, or maybe a nickle, in our pillowcase were real skinflints. We wanted CANDY!
Since we've been retired and living in senior apartments, we never even see kids in Halloween costumes any more. However, I still remember with great fondness my many years of trick-or-treating and later on as teenagers, the parties we went to where haunted houses full of gross things to feel had been prepared by the parents.
This year, the nearest I can get to the real Halloween feeling is by turning my family into Photoshopped monsters. I must be honest and tell you I am having a great deal of fun doing this! I probably won't even miss the trick-or-treating this year.
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