Time to Dust Off and Don Your Dreams . . .
While I’m usually more drawn to the tinsel glitter of the winter holidays, my younger sisters have always adored the haunting autumnal glory of October and the celebration of Halloween. So in honor of their verve for this season, I’m dedicating this month’s issues of The Luniferous Gazette to exploring the spooktacular!
Let’s start with a nostalgic trip down memory lane to the late 80’s and 90’s when my father would take my sisters and I trick-or-treating for hours on end—
The Golden Spoon
I remember when
the most important matter
in the universe
came in two flavors.
chocolate or rainbow?
The choice of sprinkles presented
an endless conundrum
to my childish intellect
even though they always
tasted the same in the end.
My memories of that moment
are all sweetly sugared, too,
Dad—
I wonder what the other students
on UCI campus thought of you,
the young father, an intrepid
adventurer with three little
daughters trailing behind him
like confident ducklings on
the quest for frozen yogurt
at the Golden Spoon!
But the very best times
that my sisters and I
share of you are all
at Halloween—
*(B realized the truth first)
You were always happy then,
throwing your fearsome creativity
and energy into whipping up
the coolest costumes, from
A dainty-lace Little Miss Muffet to
a wild and warty green monster girl,
spinning scary stories by the flicker
of jack o’ lanterns, and captaining
our candy-hunting until way
past our usual bedtime
of eight o’clock . . .
Those starry nights passed faster
than sprinkle-laden,
sparkled-over
dreams,
But I swear I remember that when
you took us to the Golden Spoon
on Halloween, they gave out
tiny cups of gummy bears
bright as gem-bites
to any child who
dared to ask
the magic
words:
Trick or Treat?
Growing up, I reveled in the pageantry of Halloween. Here is a snazzy Princess Leia costume my parents threw together for me, complete with my prized if lopsided double buns, off-brand lightsaber, and a fake laser pistol that I think was actually some sort of bug blaster. I felt quite the royal rebel!
Do you remember what age you were when you stopped dressing up and trick-or-treating on Halloween? I do, and vividly—
I was twelve and dressing as a Calamity Jane cowgirl. When my sisterly trio knocked on a neighborhood door, an elderly woman opened it and offered hard red candies to my younger sisters. When it was my turn, she announced, “You’re too old to be trick-or-treating” and promptly shut the door.
Blech, I didn’t really want that sad scarlet candy anyway! Yet I felt rather mortified the rest of the evening and decided I was done with this childhood chapter of my life. However, now on Halloween I make a point of wearing some sort of costume while doing mundane tasks around town.
I was ever so pleased when I was pushing my cart through a grocery aisle in a princess gown, and a little girl (maybe around 5?) exclaimed to her father, “SEE! She’s wearing her costume,” as if to imply that she should get to wear her fantastic outfit all day that day, too. And she’s absolutely right!
Yet my favorite memory occurred when I was wearing a Star Trek uniform. I answered the door for a group of Trick-or-Treaters, and a young girl gasped with genuine excitement upon seeing my shiny badge and the plastic pips on my collar. Perhaps, for just a moment, I reminded her of the dauntless Captain Janeway . . . .
Nowadays, I don’t get many Trick-or-Treaters in my area anymore. I also feel like alternate activities like Trunk-or-Treat are rising in popularity over scouring the entire neighborhood for the rare king-sized candy bar. Still, I guess what I love best about Halloween is that no matter the age, it encourages us to dust off our inner adventurer and don our dearest dream.
This year, I’m probably going to gold and gem up this Svaha dragon gown with awesome accessories and dress like a sentient treasure hoard.
What will you be?
~*~
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